THE 


Four-Fold   Gospel 


REV.    A.   B.   SIMPSON 


THIRD  EDITION,    REVISED 


V 

^  \ 

PUBLISHED     BY 

THE  CHRISTIAN   AI^IANCE   PUBLISHING  CO. 

692  KiGHTii  Avenue,  New  York 


C()rvKic.HTi:i>,   1S90.  1? 


•^IMI'SON. 


THE 

Four-Fold  Gospel. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 
Christ  Ovk  Saviour,         -        -      7 

II. 
Christ  Our  SA^XTIFIER,         -        42 

111. 
Christ  Our  Healer,  -        -     75 

Christ  Our  Coming  Lord,     -       110 


I. 

CHEIST  OUR  SAVIOUR. 

And  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
salvation  to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb.     Rev.  vii  :  lo. 

'HIS  is  the  cry  of  the  ransomed 
around  the  throne  when 
the     universe     is    dissolving 

wreck,  and  terror  is  filHng 
the  hearts  of  men.  It  is  the  first 
cry  of  the  ransomed  after  they  reach 
their  home  and  have  seen  aU  that  it 
means  to  be  lost  and  to  be  saved, 
while  the  earth  is  reeling,  and  the 
elements  are  melting,  and  all  things 


8  THE  Forii-FOLI)  (JOSPKL. 

are  quaking  and  tirmhliiig  in  the 
first  approaches  of  tlic^  ^reat  catas- 
trojtlit'.  'I'licy  SCI'  Itchijid  tlirni  all 
the  way  through  wliich  ilic  l.nid  lias 
led  them  ;  down  that  lon^*  vista  they 
hehold  th<^  toils  they  have  rome 
through  and  the  perils  they  have 
escaped,  and  they  recognize  how  ten- 
d(^rly  the  giace  of  God  has  hnl  them 
on  and  kept  them  safe.  They  see 
the  robes  and  crowns  that  are  pre- 
pared for  them,  and  all  the  joy  of 
the  eternal  future  which  is  opening 
before  them.  They  see  all  this,  and 
then  they  behold  Him  whose  hand 
has  kept  it  all  safely  for  them,  and 
whose  heart  has  chosen  it  for  them. 
They  look  back  upon  all  the  past ; 
they  look  forward  into  all  the  future; 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  ^ 

they  look  up  into  the  face  of  Him  to 
whom  it  was  all  due,  and  then  they 
lift  up  their  voices  in  one  glad  exult- 
ant cry,  ^^  Salvation  to  our  God 
which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb.''  This  is  what  sal- 
vation means  ;  this  is  what  they  have 
believed  for  ;  this  is  what  He  died  to 
give  them.  They  have  it  all.  They 
are  saved,  and  the  full  realization  of 
it  has  come  home  to  their  heart  at 
last. 

Let  us  look  a  little  at  what  it 
means  to  be  saved.  It  is  not  at  all  a 
little  thing.  We  sometimes  hear 
that  certain  Christians  are  only  jus- 
tified. It  is  a  mighty  thing  to  be 
justified.  It  is  a  glorious  thing  to 
be  born  again.     Christ  said  it  was 


10  THE  FOUR-FOIJ)  GOSPEL. 

greater  to  have  one's  name  written 
in  heaven  than  to  he  ahle  to  cast  out 
devils.      What  does  salvation  mean  ? 

I.      WHAT   IT  SAVES   US   FROM. 

1.  It  takes  away  the  guilt  of  sin. 
It  frees  us  from  all  liahility  and  pun- 
ishment for  past  offences.  Sin  de- 
serves punishment.  Salvation  takes 
this  all  away.  Is  it  not  glorious  to 
be  saved  ? 

2.  Salvation  saves  us  from  the  wrath 
of  God.  God  hates  evil  and  must 
punish  it  somehow.  The  wrath  of 
God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against 
all  unrighteousness  of  men.  But  from 
this  salvation  delivers  us. 

3.  Salvation  delivers  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law.     We  can  recall  the 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  11 

terrors  of  its  revealing,  the  light- 
nings and  thunder  that  surrounded 
the  mountain,  and  the  terror  of  Is- 
rael before  it  was  given  at  all.  They 
could  not  bear  that  God  should  speak 
to  them  thus,  and  they  entreated 
Moses,  ' '  Speak  thou  Avith  us  and  we 
will  hear  ;  but  let  not  God  speak 
with  us,  lest  we  die."  But  if  the 
giving  of  the  law  was  terrible,  more 
terrible  was  the  breaking.  It  is 
perilous  to  break  the  law  of  the 
land.  The  most  tender  appeal  of 
affection  did  not  avail  to  save  those 
condemned  anarchists  in  Chicago  re- 
cently. The  hand  of  the  law  was  on 
their  throats,  and  to  the  gallows 
they  must  go.  I  remember  the  days 
when  the  assassin  of  President  Lin- 


12  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

coin  was  stalking  through  the  land. 
The  law  would  have  searched  the 
world  to  find  him  out.  How  terrible 
it  must  have  been  for  him  to  feel 
that  the  eye  of  justice  was  looking 
for  him,  and  sooner  or  later  would 
surely  find  him !  The  circle  nar- 
rowed and  narrowed  around  him, 
till  at  last  he  was  grasped  in  the  cor- 
don. So  the  cordon  of  law  tightens 
around  the  sinner  who  is  under  its 
power.  Salvation  delivers  us  from 
this  curse  through  Him  who  was 
made  a  curse  for  us. 

4.  It  delivers  us  also  from  our  evil 
conscience.  There  is  always  a  shadow 
left  on  our  hearts  by  sin,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  remorse.  It  is  the  black  wing 
of  the  raven,  and  its  hoarse  voice  is 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  13 

ever  whispering  of  despair.  The 
memory  of  past  guilt  will  follow 
people  so  that  after  many  years  they 
tell  of  crimes  committed,  the  punish- 
ment for  which  they  escaped,  but 
the  burden  never  left  their  con- 
science. Sometimes  it  seemed  to 
slumber  for  a  while,  and  at  last  it 
sprang  upon  them  like  a  lion.  Sal- 
vation delivers  from  our  evil  con- 
science. It  takes  the  shadow  from 
the  heart  and  the  stinging  memory 
of  sin  from  the  soul. 

5.  It  delivers  from  an  evil  heart, 
which  is  the  source  of  all  the  sin  in 
the  life.  It  is  natural  for  men  to 
sin  even  while  they  hate  it.  The 
tendency  to  evil  is  in  every  nature^ 
chained  to  it  like  a  body  of  death, 


14  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

SO  that  when  we  would  do  good  evil 
is  present  with  us.     It  takes  posses- 
sion of  the  will  and  heart,  like  a  liv- 
ing death.     It  is  offensive,  it  smells 
of  the  sepulchre,  it  is  full  of  the  poi- 
son of  asps,  it  putrefies  the  whole 
moral  being  and  bears  it,  too,  down 
to  death.     Salvation  frees  us  from 
its  power  and  gives  us  a  new  nature. 
6.    It   frees  us  from   the  fear  of 
death.     It  takes  away  the  sting  of 
that  last  enemy,    through    fear    of 
whom  we  would  otherwise  all  our 
lifetime  be  subject  to  bondage.     I 
remember  when  I  was  a  child  what 
a  shock  a  funeral  bell  would  give 
me.     I  could  not  bear  to  hear  of 
some  one's  being  dead.      The  love  of 
Christ  has  taken  this  all  away.    The 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  15 

death-bed  of  God's  children  is  to 
them  the  portal  of  heaven. 

Y.  Salvation  delivers  us  from 
Satan's  power  and  kingdom.  God 
hath  ^^  delivered  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness  and  translated  us  into 
the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son. "  We 
are  saved  from  the  ills  and  the  ser- 
pent and  the  bonds  of  sin,  and  the 
devil  is  for  us  a  conquered  foe.  Sal- 
vation delivers  us  from  much  sorrow 
and  distress  in  life.  It  brings  a 
glorious  sunlight  into  the  life  and 
drives  away  those  clouds  of  depres- 
sion and  gloom  which  overwhelm 
us. 

8.  Beyond  all  else,  salvation  de- 
livers us  from  eternal  death.  We 
are  not  going  down  into  outer  dark- 


16  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

ness  and  the  depths  of  woe.  Christ 
has  unlocked  the  fetters  of  the  pit 
and  saved  us  from  endless  death. 
We  are  delivered  from  that  terrible 
agony  which  the  kindest  lips  that 
ever  spoke  has  called  ^^the  worm 
that  dieth  not  and  the  fire  that  is  not 
quenched." 

These  are  some  of  the  things  that 
salvation  has  delivered  us  from.  Is 
it  not  indeed  glad  tidings  ? 

II.       WHAT   SALVATION   BRINGS   TO  US. 

1.  It  brings  the  forgiveness  of  all 
our  sins  and  entirely  removes  them. 
They  are  blotted  out  as  completely 
as  though  we  had  paid  all  that  was 
due  for  them,  and  they  can  never 
appear  against  us  again. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  IT 

2.  It  brings  us  justification  in  the 
sight  of  God,  so  that  we  stand  be- 
fore Him  as  righteous  beings.  We 
are  accepted  as  though  we  had  done 
everything  He  had  commanded,  and 
had  perfectly  kept  the  law  in  every 
particular.  With  one  stroke  of  the 
pen  He  erases  the  account  that  was 
against  us  ;  with  another  stroke  He 
puts  there  all  the  righteousness  of 
Christ.  We  must  take  both  sides  of 
this.  The  spotlessness  of  Jesus  is 
put  to  your  account  as  if  it  were 
your  own.  All  His  obedience  to  the 
Father  is  yours.  All  His  patience 
and  gentleness  are  yours.  Every  ser- 
vice that  He  has  rendered  to  bless 
others  is  put  to  your  account  as  if 
you  had   done   it   all.     Every  good 


18  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

thing  you  can  discover  in  Him  is 
yours,  and  every  evil  thing  in  you  is 
His.  That  is  salvation.  Is  it  not 
wonderful  ? 

3.  It  brings  us  into  the  favor  and 
love  of  God,  and  secures  us  full  ac- 
ceptance in  the  person  of  Jesus.  He 
loves  us  as  He  loves  His  only  be- 
gotten Son.  The  moment  we  are 
presented  in  the  arms  of  Christ,  we 
are  accepted  in  Him.  Dr.  Currie,  a 
brilliant  writer  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  has  left 
a  beautiful  incident  in  his  own  life. 
He  was  the  editor  of  one  of  the  best 
journals  of  his  church,  and  in  many 
ways  he  was  closely  connected  with 
its  work.  He  dreamed  one  night,  a 
little  before  his  recent  death,  that  he 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  19 

died  and  went  up  to  the  gate  of 
heaven.  There  he  met  an  angel  and 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  enter.  The 
angel  asked  him  who  he  was.  He 
answered:  '^I  am  Dr.  Currie,  the 
editor  of  the  Quarterly  Revieiv  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 
The  angel  answered  :  ^'I  don't  know 
you,  I  never  heard  of  you  before. '' 
Soon  he  met  another  angel  and  told 
him  the  same  story,  and  received 
the  same  answer:  '^I  don't  know 
you."  At  last  one  of  the  angels 
said  :  '^Let  us  go  to  the  Judge  and 
see  if  He  will  know  you."  He  went 
before  the  throne  and  told  the  Judge 
about  his  life  and  the  work  he  had 
done  for  the  church,  but  received 
the  answer   from    the    Judge:    '^I 


20  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

don't  know  you  at  all."  His  heart 
was  beginning  to  gather  the  black- 
ness of  despair,  when  suddenly  there 
was  One  at  his  side  with  a  crown  of 
thorns  upon  his  head,  who  said : 
"Father,  I  know  him.  I  will  an- 
swer for  him."  And  instantly  all 
the  harps  of  heaven  began  to  sing  : 
"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain,"  and  he  was  ushered  into  all 
the  glory  of  the  celestial  world.  Not 
all  the  preaching  we  have  done,  or 
all  the  service  we  have  rendered  will 
amount  to  anything  there.  We 
must  be  identified  with  the  man 
who  wore  the  thorns  ;  we  must  be 
accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and  then 
the  Father  will  love  us  even  as  He 
loves  His  Son.  We  shall  stand  with 
Him  even  as  Christ  does. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  21 

4.  Salvation  gives  us  a  new  heart. 
It  brings  to  us  regeneration  of  the 
soul.  Every  spark  of  life  from  the 
old  polluted  nature  is  worthless,  and 
the  divine  nature  is  born  in  us  as  a 
13art  of  our  very  being. 

5.  Salvation  gives  us  grace  to  live 
day  by  day.  A  man  may  be  par- 
doned and  so  get  out  of  prison,  and 
yet  have  no  money  to  supply  his 
needs.  He  is  pardoned,  yet  he  is 
starving.  Salvation  takes  us  out  of 
prison,  and  provides  for  all  our  needs 
besides.  It  enables  us  to  rejoice  in 
the  glory  of  God,  which  is  "  able  to 
keep  us  from  falling,  and  to  present 
us  faultless-  before  the  presence  is 
His  glory  with  exceeding  joy." 

6.  It  brings  to  us  the  help  of  the 


22  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

Holy  Spirit,  who  is  ever  at  our  side 
as  a  gentle  mother,  helping  our  in- 
firmities and  bringing  grace  for  every 
time  of  need. 

7.  It  brings  to  us  the  care  of 
God's  providence,  causing  all  things 
to  v^^ork  together  for  our  good. 
This  is  never  true  until  we  are 
saved  ;  but  when  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God  all  things  in  earth  and 
in  heaven  are  on  our  side. 

8.  Salvation  opens  the  way  for  all 
the  blessings  that  follow  it.  It  is 
the  stepping  stone  to  sanctification 
and  healing,  and  the  peace  ihat  pass- 
eth  understanding.  From  this  first 
gateway  the  prospect  opens  out 
1  P/Undlessly  to  all  the  good  land  we 
may  go  on  to  possess. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  23 

9.  Salvation  brings  us  to  eternal 
life.  It  is,  of  course,  only  the  begin- 
ning, but  the  heavenly  land  has  its 
portals  open  even  here,  and  when  we 
at  last  reach  the  throne  and  look  out 
and  see  all  the  possibilities  that  yet 
lie  before  us,  we  shall  sing  with  the 
ransomed,  ^'Salvation  to  our  God 
which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb." 

m.      THE    PROCESS    BY    WHICH    THESE 
BLESSINGS  COME. 

1.  They  come  through  the  mercy 
and  grace  of  God.  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  ^^He  gave  His  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life." 


34:  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

2.  Salvation  comes  to  us  by  the 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
perfectly  fulfilled  for  us  every  re- 
quirement of  the  law.  Had  he  fal- 
tered in  one  temptation  we  could  not 
have  been  saved.  Think  of  that, 
when  you  are  tempted  to  speak  a 
hasty  word,  and  you  almost  give 
way  for  a  moment.  Suppose  Jesus 
had  done  so,  we  should  have  been 
lost  forever.  Every  moment  He  held 
steadfastly  in  the  path  of  obedience, 
and  His  perfect  grace  and  obedience 
is  the  price  of  your  salvation. 

3.  Salvation  comes  to  us  through 
the  death  of  Christ.  His  obedience 
is  not  enough.  He  must  die.  His 
crucifixion  is  the  atonement  for  our 
sins. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  25 

4.  Salvation  comes  through  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead,  which  was  God's  seal  of 
His  accomplished  work  and  the 
pledge  of  our  pardon. 

5.  Salvation  comes  through  the 
intercession  of  Jesus  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father.  He  is  our 
Great  High  Priest  there,  where  He 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
us,  and  thus  keeps  us  in  continual 
acceptance. 

6.  Salvation  comes  through  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Spirit 
of  God  is  sent  down,  through  the  in- 
tercession of  Christ,  to  carry  out  in 
our  hearts  and  lives  His  work.  He 
keeps  our  feet  in  the  way,  and  He 
will  never  leave  His  work  until  He 


26  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

has  put  us  forever  into  the  bosom  of 
Jesus. 

T.  Salvation  comes  to  us  by  the 
Gospel.  It  is  presented  to  us  through 
this  message,  and  our  refusal  to  ac- 
cept it,  or  our  neglect  to  do  so,  fixes 
irrevocably,  by  our  own  act,  our 
eternal  condition.  If  we  are  saved, 
we  become  so  by  accepting  the  Gos- 
pel, which  is,  therefore,  called  '^the 
Gospel  of  your  salvation." 

IV.      THE   STEPS    BY    WHICH    IT   IS   RE- 
CEIVED. 

1.  Conviction  of  sin.  We  must 
first  see  our  need  and  our  danger 
before  we  can  be  saved.  The  Holy 
Ghost  brings  this  to  our  heart  and 
conscience.       Until     there    is    this 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  27 

knowledge  of  the  need  of  Christ,  He 
cannot  of  course  be  received,  but 
when  the  heart  is  deeply  impressed 
under  a  sense  of  sin,  Christ  is  precious 
indeed. 

2.  There  must  be  next  an  appre- 
hension of  Jesus  as  our  Saviour. 
The  soul  must  see  Him  as  both  able 
and  willing  to  save.  It  will  not  do 
merely  to  feel  and  confess  your 
guilt.  What  is  needed  is  to  get  the 
eye  on  Jesus.  So  Christ  says  to 
every  seeking  soul,  '  ^  Look  !  Look  ! 
Look  unto  me  and  be  saved !" 
^' Every  one  whick  seeth  the  Son, 
and  believe th  on  Him,  may  have 
everlasting  life." 

3.  Salvation  comes  by  repentance. 
There  must  be  a  turning  from  sin. 


28  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

This  does  not  consist  in  mere  emo- 
tional feeling,  necessarily,  but  it  does 
mean  to  have  the  whole  will  and 
purpose  of  heart  turned  from  sin  to 
God. 

4.  Salvation  comes  by  coming  to 
Jesus.  The  soul  must  not  only  turn 
away  from  sin.  That  alone  will  not 
save  it.  Lot's  wife  turned  away 
from  Sodom  —  but  she  was  not  in 
Zoar.  There  must  be  a  turning  to 
Jesus  as  well  as  a  turning  from  sin. 

5.  Salvation  comes  by  accepting 
Jesus  as  a  Saviour.  This  does  not 
mean  merely  crying  out  to  Him  to 
save,  but  claiming  Him  as  the  Sav- 
iour, embracing  the  promises  He  has 
given,  and  so  believing  that  He  is 
your  personal  Kedeemer. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  29 

6.  Salvation  comes  by  believing 
that  Christ  has  accepted  us,  and 
counting  Him  faithful  who  has  prom- 
ised. This  will  bring  the  sweetness 
of  assurance  and  peace,  and  as  we 
believe  the  promise  the  Spirit  will 
seal  it  to  the  heart  and  witness  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God. 

7.  Salvation  comes  by  confessing 
Christ  as  the  Saviour.  Thi-s  is  a 
necessary  step.  It  is  like  the  ratifi- 
cation of  a  deed  or  the  celebration  of 
a  marriage,  and  stamps  and  seals 
our  act  of  committal. 

8.  Salvation  involves  our  abiding 
in  Jesus.  Having  taken  it  for 
granted,  once  for  all,  that  you  are 
saved,  never  do  the  work  over  again. 

'  '*As    ye    have,   therefore,    received 


80  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,   so  walk  ye 
in  Him." 

V.       THINGS    THE    BIBLE    SAYS    ABOUT 
SALVATION. 

1.  It  is  called  God's  salvation.  It 
was  not  invented  by  man.  God 
alone  is  the  author  of  it,  and  He  is 
the  only  Saviour. 

2.  It  is  also  called  '^your  own  sal- 
vation," because  you  yourself  must 
appropriate  it. 

3.  It  is  called  ^Hhe  common  salva- 
tion," because  it  is  free  to  all  who 
will  accept  it. 

4.  It  is  called  a  ^^ great  salvation," 
because  it  is  full  and  infinite  in  its 
provisions.  It  is  large  enough  for  aU 
your  needs. 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  31 

5.  Christ  is  called  the  "  mighty  to 
save,"  because  no  matter  how  weak 
or  how  wicked  the  sinner  may  be, 
He  is  able  to  save  him  to  the  utter- 
most. 

6.  It  is  called  a  near  salvation. 
^^  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  who  shall 
ascend  into  heaven  ?  (that  is,  to 
bring  Christ  down  from  above  ;)  Or, 
who  shall  descend  into  the  deep? 
(that  is,  to  bring  Christ  again  from 
the  dead.)  But  what  saith  it  ?  The 
Word  is  nigh  thee,  eveii  in  thy 
mouth  and  in  thy  heart :  that  is,  the 
Word  of  Faith  which  we  preach : 
That  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy 
mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  be- 
lieve in  thine  heart  that  God  hath 
raised    Him    from  the    dead,   thou 


32  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

shalt  be  saved. "  We  do  not  have  to 
get  up  into  some  exalted  state  to 
find  Christ,  nor  down  into  some  pro- 
found and  terrible  experience,  but 
we  can  find  Him  everywhere  we  are. 
Salvation  is  at  our  door.  We  can 
take  it  as  w^e  find  Him  very  near  to 
us.  No  steps  were  allowed  to  God's 
ancient  altar,  for  then  some  poor 
sinner  might  not  be  able  to  get  up  to 
it.  Jesus  is  on  the  very  plane  where 
you  are  this  moment.  You  can  take 
His  salvation  here  now.  Take  Him 
as  you  are,  and  He  will  lead  you 
into  all  the  experiences  you  need. 

VI.     WHY    IT    IS    CALLED    THE    GOSPEL 
OF   GOOD    NEWS. 

'  1.  Because  of  its  value.      It  comes 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  33 

laden  with  blessings  to  him  who  re- 
ceives it. 

2.  Because  of  its  freedom.  It  may 
be  taken  without  money  and  with- 
out price. 

3.  Because  of  its  availableness.  It 
is  easy  of  access,  being  on  the  level 
of  the  worst  sinner. 

4.  Because  of  its  universality. 
Whosoever  will  may  take  it  and 
live. 

5.  Because  of  the  security  of  its 
blessings.  They  are  given  forever- 
more.  ''Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  He  that  heareth  my  Word,  and 
believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath 
everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  per- 
ish." 

6.  Because   of  the  eternity  of  its 


34  THE  FOLK-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

blessings.  The  sun  will  have  burnt 
itself  into  aslies,  the  earth  will  liave 
been  destroyed  by  volcanic  heat,  the 
heavens  will  be  changed  wlien  salva- 
tion has  only  b(^gun.  Ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  years  shall  pass 
away,  and  we  shall  have  only  begun 
a  little  to  understand  what  salvation 
means.  Blessed  be  God  for  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ's  salvatioiL 

VII.      CONSIDERATIONS  WHICH   SHOULD 
URGE  US  TO  TAKE  AND  GIVE  OUT 
THIS  SALVATION. 

1.  Because  of  the  fact  that  every 
man's  salvation  is  hinged  ui)on  his 
own  choice  and  free  will.  It  is  an 
awful  thing  to  have  the  power  to 
take  salvation  and  to  throw  it  away. 
And  yet  it  is  left  to  our  choice.     We 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  35 

are  not  forced  to  take  it.     We  must 
voluntarily  choose  it  or  reject  it. 

2.  Because  of  the  tremendous  re- 
sponsibility to  which  we  are  held  ac- 
countable for  the  salvation  of  our 
soul.  God  has  put  it  into  our  hands 
as  a  jewel  of  inestimable  value,  and 
He  will  hold  us  to  a  strict  account 
for  the  way  we  treat  this  precious 
thing.  If  we  destroy  it,  how  fearful 
will  be  our  doom  when  we  meet  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth,  and  hear  the 
stern  question  from  His  lips,  ^  ^  Where 
is  thy  soul  V ' 

3.  Because  of  the  guilt  which  will 
rest  upon  us  for  neglecting  and  des- 
pising the  precious  blood  of  Christ, 
which  was  shed  for  our  salvation. 
To  neglect  it  is  to  throw  it  away.  He 


36  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

has  provided  a  great  salvation.  If  it 
is  worth  so  niiuli  to  man,  if  it  lias 
cost  God  so  much  to  provide  it,  what 
can  he  thought  of  him  wlio  makes 
httle  of  it  ?  Jesus  suffered  intensely 
to  bring  it  to  us,  and  shall  we  stum- 
ble carelessly  over  it  ?  Oh,  let  us  he 
more  concerned  than  we  are,  both 
for  tlie  salvation  of  our  own  souls 
and  for  those  around  us  wlio  are  not 
saved. 

4.  Because  the  little  word  "now  " 
is  always  linked  witli  it.  It  must  be 
taken  now  or  never.  The  cycle  of 
life  is  very  narrow.  We  do  not  know 
how  soon  it  will  end.  "  Behold  now 
is  the  day  of  salvation." 

5.  Because  its  issues  are  for  eter- 
nity.     The   decisions  there   are  not 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  37 

reversible.  The  soul  cannot  come 
back  when  once  it  has  left  the  body, 
and  have  another  chance  to  secure  its 
salvation.  When  once  the  Master 
has  risen  up  and  shut  the  door,  the 
soul  will  find  it  has  been  left  out  for 
ever.  The  cry  will  then  be,  ^  ^  I  have 
lost  my  chance  ;  it  is  too  late."  God's 
Word  holds  out  no  second  chance  to 
any  human  soul. 

G.  Because  if  salvation  is  missed 
there  will  be  no  excuse  for  it.  Not 
one  thing  has  been  left  undone  in 
presenting  it  to  men.  God's  best 
thought  and  Christ's  best  love  have 
been  given  to  it.  All  has  been  done  that 
could  be  done.  Salvation  has  been 
brought  down  to  man's  level.  It  has 
been  placed  where  he  can  reach  it. 


38  THE  FOUR-FOT>D  COSPEL. 

God  lias  i)rovi(lud  all  the  resources, 
even  tlie  grace,  repentance  and  faith, 
if  man  Avill  take  tliem.  If  you  lack 
anything,  God  will  ])ut  His  arms 
around  you  and  lift  you  up  to  Him, 
breathing  His  faith  into  you,  and 
carrying  you  Himself  until  you  are 
able  to  walk.  Salvation  is  brought 
to  every  sinner.  If  the  soul  is  lost  it 
is  because  it  has  neglected  and  defied 
God's  love. 

I  am  glad  to  ])ring  you  this  salva- 
tion, but  eternity  will  be  too  short 
to  tell  it  all.  Take  it  out  and  then 
go  out  and  gather  others  in  to  share 
it.  You  will  receive  a  glorious 
crown,  but  the  best  of  it  all  will  be 
that  men  will  be  saved. 

In  this  city  there  is  a  picture  hung 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  39 

up  in  a  parlor  and  expensively  f  ra  med. 
It  is  a  very  simple  picture.  It  has 
just  one  word  on  it.  On  a  little  bit 
of  paper — a  telegraph  form — is  the 
one  word, 

SAVED ! 

It  was  framed  by  the  lady  of  that 
mansion,  and  is  dearer  to  her  than 
all  her  works  of  art.  One  day  when 
the  awful  news  came  to  her  through 
the  papers  that  the  ship  on  which 
her  husband  had  sailed  was  a  perfect 
WTeck,  that  little  telegram  came  to 
her  door  and  saved  her  from  despair. 

It  came  across  the  sea.  It  was  the 
message  of  that  rescued  man  by  the 
electric  wire,  and  it  meant  to  two 
hearts  all  that  life  is  worth. 

Oh,  let  such  a  message  go  up  to- 


40  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

day  to  yonder  shore.  The  Holy 
Ghost  will  flash  it  hence  while  I  am 
drawing  the  next  breath.  The  angels 
will  echo  it  over  heaven,  and  tliere 
are  dear  friends  there  to  whom  it 
will  mean  as  much  as  their  own  very 
heaven. 

I  have  seen  another  short  sentence 
in  a  picture,  too. 

It  came  from  one  who  had  been 
rescued  from  a  ship  where  friends 
and  family  had  all  perished.  Those 
dear  little  ones  were  in  the  slimy 
caves  of  the  cruel  sea.  Those  be- 
loved faces  had  gone  down  forever, 
but  he  w^as  saved,  and  from  yonder 
shore  he  sent  back  this  sad  and 
weary  message, 

SAVED  ALONE! 

So  I  can  imagine  a  selfish  Chris- 


CHRIST  OUR  SAVIOUR.  41 

tian  entering  yondei'  portals.  They 
meet  him  at  the  gates.  ^' Where 
are  your  dear  ones?"  ''Where  are 
your  friends?"  ''Where  is  your 
crown  ?"  "  Alas  !  I  am  saved  alone." 
God  help  you,  reader,  to  so  receive 
and  give,  that  you  shall  save  yourself 
and  others  also. 

Must  I  go,  and  empty  handed, 
Must  I  thus  my  Saviour  meet, 

Not  one  soul  with  which  to  greet  Him, 
Lay  no  trophy  at  His  feet  ? 


II. 

CHRIST  OUIi  SANCTIFJKR. 

And  for  llicir  sakcs  I  sanctify  myself,  that 
lluv  also  niij^ht  be  sanctified  thronj^li  the  truth. 
John  xvii  :   19. 

HE  marginal  leading  of  the 
last  claiiso  is,  "  That  they  also 
T  might  ho  truly  sanctified/' 
This  seems  to  imply  that  there  is 
something  which  passes  in  the  world 
for  holiness,  which  is  not  true  sanc- 
tification.  There  are  counterfeit 
forms  of  Christian  life,  and  also  de- 
fective forms,  wiiich  do  not  repre- 
sent all  that  the  fullness  of  Christ  is 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  43 

able  to  do  for  us.  Sanctification  is 
the  second  step  in  the  Four-fold 
Gospel. 

I.      WHAT  IT  IS   NOT. 

We  will  look  at  first  what  it  is 
not.  There  are  good  elements  and 
even  holy  elements  in  Christian 
character,  which  are  not  sanctifica- 
tion. 

1.  It  is  not  regeneration.  Sancti- 
fication is  not  conversion.  It  is  a 
great  and  blessed  thing  to  become  a 
Christian.  It  is  never  a  matter  of 
small  account.  To  be  saved  eter- 
nally is  cause  for  eternal  joy ;  but 
the  soul  must  also  enter  into  sancti- 
fication. They  are  not  the  same. 
Regeneration  is  the  beginning.     It 


44  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

is  the  germ  of  the  seed,  l)ut  it  is  not 
the  summer  fullness  of  the  plant. 
The  heart  has  not  yet  gained  entire 
victory  over  the  old  elements  of  sin. 
It  is  sometimes  overcome  by  them. 
Regeneration  is  like  building  a  house 
and  having  the  work  done  well. 
Sanctification  is  having  the  owner 
come  and  dwell  in  it  and  fill  it  with 
gladness,  and  life,  and  beauty.  Many 
Christians  are  converted  and  stop 
there.  They  do  not  go  on  to  the 
fullness  of  their  life  in  Christ,  and 
so  are  in  danger  of  losing  what  they 
already  possess.  Germany  brought 
in  the  grand  truth  of  justification  by 
faith  through  the  teachings  of  Mar- 
tin Luther,  but  he  failed  to  go  on  to 
the  deeper  teachings  of  the  Chris- 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  45 

tian  life.  What  was  the  result? 
Germany  to-day  is  cold  and  lifeless, 
and  the  very  hot-bed  of  ratiCnahsm 
and  all  its  attendant  evils.  How 
different  it  has  been  in  England ! 
The  labors  of  men  like  Wesley, 
and  Baxter,  and  Whitfield,  who  un- 
derstood the  mission  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  have  led  the  Christian  life  of 
England,  and  America,  her  offspring, 
into  deeper  and  more  permanent 
channels.  You  will  find  that  the 
men  and  women  who  do  not  press 
on  in  their  Christian  experience  to 
gain  the  fullness  of  their  inheritance 
in  Him,  will  often  become  cold  and 
formal.  The  evil  in  their  own  heart 
will  assert  itself  again  and  will  be 
very  likely  to  overcome  them,  and 


40  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

their  work  will  bring  confusion  and 
disaster  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  If 
they  escape  the  result,  it  will  be  as 
by  fire.  You  have  doubtless  noticed 
young  Christians  who  have  seemed 
to  be  marvelously  converted  and 
filled  with  tlie  love  of  God,  but  they 
have  not  entered  into  the  deeper  life 
of  Christ,  and  in  an  evil  hoar  they 
failed.  They  had  gained  a  new 
heart,  but  they  had  neglected  to  get 
the  deeper  teaching  and  life  which 
Christ  has  for  all  His  children. 

2.  Sanctification  is  not  morality, 
nor  any  attainments  of  character. 
There  is  very  much  that  is  lovely  in 
human  life  which  is  not  sanctifica- 
tion. A  man  cannot  build  up  a  good 
human  character  himself  and  then 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  47 

call  it  the  work  of  God.  It  will  not 
stand  the  strain  that  is  sure  to  come 
upon  it.  Only  the  house  that  is 
founded  upon  the  Rock  of  Ages  will 
abide  securely  in  the  wrath  of  the 
elements. 

3.  Sanctification  is  not  your  own 
work  ;  it  is  not  a  gradual  attain- 
ment which  you  can  grow  into  by 
your  own  efforts.  If  you  should  be 
able  to  build  such  a  structure  your- 
self, and  add  to  it  year  after  year 
until  it  was  completed,  would  you 
not  then  stand  off  with  a  pardonable 
pride  and  look  upon  it  as  your  own 
work  ?  No,  dear  friends,  you  cannot 
grow  into  sanctification.  You  will 
grow  after  you  are  in  it  into  a  fuller, 
riper  and  more  mature  development 


48  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

of  life  in  Christ,  but  you  must  take 
it  at  its  commencement  as  a  gift,  not 
as  a  growth.  It  is  an  obtainment, 
not  an  attainment.  You  cannot 
sanctify  yourselves.  The  only  thing 
to  do  is  to  give  yourself  wholly  to 
God,  a  voluntary  sacrifice.  This  is 
intensely  important.  It  is  but  a 
right  thing  to  do  for  Him.  But  He 
must  do  the  work  of  cleansing  and 
filHng. 

4.  Sanctification  is  not  the  work 
of  death.  It  is  strange  that  any  one 
should  think  there  could  be  a  sancti- 
fying influence  in  the  dying  strug- 
gle. Yet  many  have  lived  in  that 
delusion  for  years.  They  expect 
that  the  cold  sweat  of  that  last  hour 
and  the  convulsive  throbbing  of  the 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  49 

sinking  heart  will  somehow  place 
them  in  the  arms  of  their  Sanctifier. 
This  comes  in  some  degree  from  the 
old  idea  that  their  sin  is  seated  in 
the  body — the  old  Manichsen  teach- 
ing that  the  flesh  is  unholy,  and  if 
we  were  once  rid  of  the  body,  the 
fleshless  tenant  would  be  free  from 
sin  and  would  spring  at  once  into 
boundless  purity.  There  is  no  sin 
in  these  bones  and  flesh  and  liga- 
ments. If  you  cast  off  your  hand 
you  have  lost  no  sin.  If  both  hands 
are  gone  you  are  as  sinful  as  ever. 
If  you  cut  off  your  head  and  yield 
up  your  life,  sin  would  still  remain 
in  the  soul.  Sin  is  not  in  the  body, 
it  is  in  the  heart,  and  the  soul, 
and  the  will.    Divest  yourself  of  this 


60  THE  FOUR  FOLD  GOSPEL. 

body  of  clay,  and  the  spirit  will  still  be 
left,  a  hard,  rebellious,  sinful  thing. 
Death  will  not  sanctify  it.  It  is  a 
poor  time  to  be  converted.  It  will  be 
a  poorer  time  to  be  sanctified.  I 
would  not  advise  any  one  to  put  oif 
their  salvation  to  the  dying  hour, 
when  the  heart  is  oppressed  and  the 
brain  clouded,  and  the  mind  has  need 
of  confidence  and  rest  and  a  sense  of 
victory  to  enable  it  to  enter  into  His 
presence  with  f  uUness  of  joy.  Nor  is 
it  a  better  time  for  the  deeper  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Sanctification 
should  be  entered  into  intelligent  y 
when  the  mind  is  clear.  It  is  a  de- 
liberate  act  calling  for  the  calm  exer- 
cise of  all  the  faculties  working  under 
the  controlling  influence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit. 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  51 

5.  Sanctifi cation  is  not  self-perfec- 
tion. We  shall  never  become  so  in- 
herently good  that  there  will  be  no 
possibility  or  temptation  to  sin.  We 
shall  never  reach  a  place  where  we 
shall  not  need  each  moment  to  abide 
in  Him.  The  instant  w^efeel  able  to 
live  without  Him,  there  comes  up  a 
separate  life  within  us  which  is  not  a 
sanctified  life.  The  reason  the  ex- 
alted spirits  in  heaven  fell  from  their 
high  estate  was,  perhaps,  because 
they  became  conscious  of  their  own 
beauty,  and  pride  arose  in  their 
hearts.  They  looked  at  themselves, 
and  became  as  gods  unto  themselves. 
The  moment  you  or  I  become  con- 
scious that  we  are  strong  or  pure, 
that  instant  the  work  of  disintegra- 


52  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

tion  begins.  It  has  made  us  inde- 
pendent of  Him,  and  we  have  sep- 
arated ourselves  from  the  Hfe  of 
Christ.  We  must  be  simple,  empty 
vessels,  open  channels  for  His  life  to 
flow  through.  Then  Christ's  perfec- 
tion will  be  made  over  to  us.  And 
we  shall  grow  ever  less  and  less  in 
ourselves,  as  He  becomes  more  and 
more  within  us. 

0.  Sanctification  is  not  a  state  of 
emotion.  It  is  not  an  ecstasy  or  a 
sensation.  It  resides  in  the  will  and 
purpose  of  life.  It  is  a  practical  con- 
formity of  life  and  conduct  to  the 
will  and  character  of  God.  The  will 
must  choose  God.  The  purpose  of 
the  heart  must  be  to  yield  to  Him, 
to  please  and  obey  Him.     That  is  the 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  53 

important  thing,  to  love,  to  choose 
and  to  do  His  holy  will.  You  can 
not  have  that  spirit  in  you  and  fail  to 
be  happy.  The  spirit  that  craves 
mere  sensational  joy  has  yet  an  un- 
holy self  life.  It  must  get  out  of  that 
form  of  self  and  i .  to  God  before  it 
can  receive  much  from  Him. 

II.      WHAT  SANCTIFICATION  IS. 

Let  us  look  at  the  positive  side. 

1.  It  is  separation  from  sin  that  is 
the  root  idea  of  the  word.  The  sanc- 
tified Christian  is  separated  from 
sin,  from  an  evil  world,  even  from 
his  own  self,  and  from  anything  that 
would  be  a  separating  cause  between 
him  and  Christ  in  the  new  life.  It 
does  not  mean  that  sin  and  Satan  are 


64  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

to  be  destroyed.  God  does  not  yet 
bring  the  millennium,  but  He  puts  a 
line  of  demarcation  between  the 
sanctified  soul  and  all  that  is  unholy. 
The  great  trouble  with  Christians  is 
they  try  to  destroy  evil.  They  think 
if  sin  could  be  really  decapitated  and 
Satan  slain  they  would  be  supremely 
happy.  It  is  a  surprise  to  many  of 
them  after  conversion  that  God  still 
lets  the  devil  live.  He  has  nowhere 
promised  that  He  will  kill  Satan,  but 
He  has  promised  to  put  a  broad, 
deep  Jordan  between  the  Christian 
and  sin.  The  only  thing  to  do  with 
it  is  to  repudiate  it  and  let  it  alone. 
There  is  sin  enough  in  the  world  to 
destroy  us  all,  if  we  take  it  in.  The 
air  is  full  of  it,  as  the  air  in  some  of 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  55 

our  Western  States  is  full  of  soot 
from  the  soft  coal  that  is  burned 
there.  It  will  be  so  to  the  end  of 
time,  but  God  means  you  and  me, 
beloved,  to  be  separated  from  it  in 
our  spirit. 

2.  Sanctification  means  also  dedi- 
cation to  God.  That  is  the  root  idea 
of  the  word  also.  It  is  separation 
from  sin  and  dedication  unto  God. 
A  sanctified  Christian  is  wholly 
yielded  to  God  to  please  Him  in  every 
particular ;  his  first  thought  always 
is,  ''Thy  Avill  be  done  ;"  his  one  de- 
sire that  he  may  please  God  and  do 
His  holy  will.  This  is  the  thought 
expressed  by  the  word  consecration. 
In  the  Old  Testament  all  things 
which  were   set  apart  to  God  were 


56  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

called  sanctified,  even  if  there  had 
been  no  sin  in  them  before.  The 
Tabernacle  was  sanctified  ;  it  had 
never  sinned,  but  it  was  dedicated  to 
God.  In  the  same  sense  all  the 
vessels  of  the  Tabernacle  were  sanc- 
tified. They  were  set  apart  to  a  holy 
use.  Dear  friends,  God  expects 
something  more  of  us  than  simply  to 
be  separated  from  sin.  That  is  only 
negative  goodness.  He  expects  that 
we  shall  be  wholly  dedicated  to  Him, 
having  it  the  supreme  wish  of  our 
heart  to  love  and  honor  and  please 
Him.  Are  we  fulfilling  His  expecta- 
tions in  this  ? 

3.  Sanctification  includes  conform- 
ity to  the  likeness  of  God.  We  are 
to  be  in  His  image,  and  stamped  with 
the  impress  of  Jesus  Christ 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  57 

4.  Sanctification  means  conformity 
also  to  the  will  as  well  as  the  likeness 
of  God,  A  sanctified  Christian  is 
submissive  and  obedient.  He  desires 
the  Divine  will  above  everything  else 
in  life  as  kinder  and  wiser  for  him 
than  anything  else  can  be.  He  is 
conscious  that  he  misses  something 
if  he  misses  it.  He  knows  it  will 
promote  his  highest  good  far  more 
than  his  own  will,  crying  instinc- 
tively, "Thy  will  be  done." 

' '  Thou  sweet,  beloved  will  of  God, 
On  thee  I  lay  me  down  and  rest, 
As  babe  upon  its  mother's  breast." 

5.  Sanctification  means  love,  su- 
preme love  to  God  and  all  mankind. 
This  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  It 
is  the   spring    of    all  obedience,  the 


68  THE  FOUR  FOLD  GOSPEL. 

fountain  from  which  all  right  things 
flow.  We  cannot  be  conformed  to 
the  image  of  God  without  love,  for 
God  is  love.  This  is,  perhaps,  the 
strongest  feature  in  a  truly  sanciified 
life.  It  clothes  all  the  other  virtues 
with  softness  and  warmth.  It  takes 
the  icy  peaks  of  a  cold  and  naked 
consecration  and  covers  them  with 
mosses  and  verdure.  It  sends  bright 
sunlight  into  the  heart,  making 
everything  warm  and  full  of  life, 
w^hich  would  otherwise  be  cold  and 
desolate.  The  savage  was  able  to 
stand  before  his  enemies  and  be  cut 
to  pieces  with  stoical  firmness  that 
disdained  to  cry,  but  his  indifference 
was  like  some  stony  cliff.  It  was 
not   the  warm,    tender    love  of    the 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  59 

heart  of  Jesus,  which  made  Him  bow 
meekly  to  His  painful  death  because 
it  was  His  Father's  will.  It  was  the 
spontaneous,  glad  outflowing  of  His 
loving  heart.  Dear  friends,  if  we 
are  so  filled  with  love  to  God,  it  will 
flow  out  to  others,  and  we  shall  love 
our  neighbors  as  we  love  ourselves. 

III.    THE   SOURCE   OF  SANCTIFICATION . 

The  heart  and  soul  of  the  whole 
matter  is  seeing  that  Jesus  is  Him- 
self our  sanctification.  We  must  not 
look  at  it  merely  as  some  great 
mountain  peak  where  He  is  standing 
and  which  we  have  to  climb,  but 
between  us  and  it  there  are  almost 
inaccessible  cliffs  to  ascend  before 
we  can  stand  at  His  side.     But  Jesus 


60  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

Himself  becomes  our  sanctification. 
*^For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself, 
that  they  also  may  be  truly  sancti- 
fied." It  seems  as  though  He  was 
a  little  afraid  His  followers  would  get 
to  looking  for  sanctification  apart 
from  Himself,  and  knowing  that  it 
could  never  reach  them  excei)t 
through  Him,  therefore  He  said,  "  I 
sanctify  myself." 

1.  He  has  purchased  it  for  us.  It 
is  part  of  the  fiuit  of  Calvary.  By 
one  offering  He  hath  perfected  for- 
ever them  that  are  sanctified.  ''  By 
the  which  will  we  are  sanctified 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of 
Jesus  Christ  once  for  all. " 

2.  It  does  not  come  to  us  by  our 
efforts,  but  it  is  made  over  to  us  as 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  61 

the  purchase  of  His  death  upon  the 
cross.  It  is  ours  by  the  purchase  of 
Jesus  just  as  much  as  forgiveness  is. 
You  have  as  much  right  to  be  holy 
and  sanctified  as  you  have  to  be 
saved.  You  can  go  to  God  and  claim 
it  as  your  inheritance  as  much  as 
you  can  your  pardon  for  sin.  If  you 
do  not  have  it  you  are  falling  short 
of  your  redemption  privileges. 

3.  Sanctification  is  to  be  received 
as  one  of  the  free  gifts  God  desires 
to  bestow  upon  us.  If  it  is  not  a  gift 
then  it  is  not  a  part  of  redemption. 
If  it  is  a  part  of  redemption,  then  it 
is  as  free  as  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

4.  It  comes  through  the  personal 
indwelling  of  Jesus.  He  does  not 
put    righteousness    into    the    heart 


62  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

simply,  but  Ho  comes  there  person- 
ally Himself  to  live.  Words  are 
weak  ;  they,  indeed,  are  utterly  in- 
adequate to  express  this  thought. 
When  we  arrive  at  complete  despair 
of  all  other  ways  we  learn  this  truth. 
And  Jesus  Christ  Himself  comes  into 
the  heart  and  lives  His  own  life  there, 
and  so  becomes  the  sanctification  of 
the  soul.  This  is  the  meaning  of 
the  text.  It  is  to  His  people  that 
Jesus  sanctifies  Himself,  and  any 
who  try  to  live  a  sanctified  life  apart 
from  Him  are  not  truly  sanctified. 
They  must  take  Jesus  in  as  their  life 
to  be  truly  sanctified.  That  is  the 
personal  sense  of  divine  holiness. 
'^  But  of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom, 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  63 

and  righteousness,  and  sanctifica 
tion,  and  redemption."  Jesus  is 
made  unto  us  of  God  wisdom.  He 
is  the  true  philosophy,  the  eternal 
Sophia,  far  above  the  deepest  phil- 
osophy, righteousness,  sanctification 
and  redemption.  So  Jesus  in  our 
heart  becomes  our  wisdom.  He  does 
not  improve  us,  and  make  us  some- 
thing to  be  wondered  at.  But  He 
just  comes  in  us  and  lives  as  He  did 
of  old  in  His  Galilean  ministry. 

When  the  tabernacle  was  finished 
the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  and  pos- 
sessed it,  and  dwelt  in  a  burning  fire 
upon  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  be- 
tween the  cherubim.  God  lived  there 
after  it  was  dedicated  to  Him.  So 
when  we  are  dedicated  to  God,  He 


04  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

comes  to  live  in  us  and  transfuses  His 
life  through  all  our  being.     He  that 
came  into   Mary's  breast,    He    that 
came  down  in  power  upon  the  dis- 
ciples at  Pentecost  comes  to  you  and 
me  when  we  are  fully  dedicated  to 
Him,  as  really  as  though  we  should 
see   Him   come   fluttering   down  in 
visible  form  upon  our  shoulder.     He 
comes  from   yonder  world    to    live 
within  us   as   truly   as    though   we 
were    visibly    dwelling    under    His 
shadow.     God  does  come  to  dwell  in 
the  heart  and  live  His  holy  life  with- 
in  us.     In  the  3Gth  of  Ezekiel  we 
have  this  promise  :  "  I  will  sprinkle 
clean  water  upon  you."    That  is  for- 
giveness ;  old  sins  are  all  blotted  out. 
' '  A  hew  heart  also  will  I  give  you ;  " 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  65 

that  is  regeneration.  "I  will  put 
My  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you 
to  Avalk  in  My  statutes,  and  ye  shall 
keep  My  judgments  and  do  them  ;" 
ah  !  that  is  something  more  than  re- 
generation and  forgiveness.  It  is 
the  living  God  come  to  live  in  the 
new  heart.  It  is  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelling  in  the  heart  of  flesh  that  God 
has  given,  so  that  every  movement, 
every  thought,  every  intention,  every 
desire  of  our  whole  being  will  be 
prompted  by  the  springing  life  of 
God  within.  It  is  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh  again.  This  is  the  only  true 
consummation  of  sanctification.  Thus 
only  can  man  enter  completely  into 
the  life  of  holiness.  As  we  are  thus 
possessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  we  are 


6(3  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

made  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature. 
It  is  a  sacred  thing  for  any  man  or 
woman  to  enter  into  this  relation 
with  God.  It  places  the  humblest 
and  most  unattractive  creature  upon 
the  throne  ^\^th  Him.  If  we  know 
that  God  is  thus  dwelling  \vithin  us, 
we  will  bow  before  the  majesty  of 
that  sacred  presence.  AVe  will  not 
dare  to  profane  it  by  sin.  There  will 
be  a  hush  upon  our  hearts,  and  we 
will  walk  with  bowed  heads  and  con- 
scious of  the  jewel  we  carry  within 
oui"  hearts.  Do  you  know  what  it  is 
to  have  Christ  thus  sanctified  to  you, 
beloved  ?  Do  you  know  personally 
what  it  is  to  be  wholly  dedicated  to 
Him,  and  to  hear  Him  say  to  you, 
''For  your  sake  I  sanctify  myself 
that  you  may  be  truly  sanctified  ?" 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  67 

IV.    HOW   IT   IS   RECEIVED. 

1.  We  must  have  a  Divine  revela- 
tion of  our  own  need  of  sanctification 
before  we  will  seek  to  obtain  it.  We 
must  see  for  ourselves  that  we  are 
not  sanctified,  and  that  we  must  be 
sanctified  if  we  would  be  happy. 
The  first  thing  God  does  often  to  bring 
us  where  we  will  see  this,  is  to  make 
us  thoroughly  ashamed  of  ourselves 
by  letting  us  fall  into  mistakes  and 
by  bringing  our  frailties  to  our  notice. 
In  these  humiliating  self-revealings 
we  are  able  to  see  where  we  are  not 
righteous,  and  we  are  made  to  learn 
that  we  cannot  keep  our  resolutions 
of  amendment  that  we  make  in  our 
own  strength.     God  has  let  His  dear 


68  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

children  learn  this  lesson  all  through 
the  ages,  and  learn  it  hy  repeated 
failures,  and  each  of  us  must  ever 
learn  it  for  himself. 

2.  We  must  come  to  see  Jesus  as 
our  sanctifier.  If  with  one  breath 
we  cry  out,  ^'0  wretched  man  that 
I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  (''  with  the  next 
we  must  add,  "  I  thank  God  through 
Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord.''  We  must 
see  in  Him  that  great  deliverer,  and 
know  that  He  is  able  to  meet  our 
every  need  and  supply  it. 

3.  We  must  make  an  entire  sur- 
render to  Him  in  everything.  We  must 
give  ourselves  to  Him  thoroughly, 
definitely  and  unconditionally,  and 
have  it  graven  in  the  heart,  as  if  it 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  C9 

were  written  on  the  rocks,  or  painted 
on  the  sky.  Cut  it  deeply  in  the 
annals  of  your  recollection.  Always 
remember  that  on  that  day  and  on 
that  hour  I  gave  myself  fully  to 
Christ  and  He  became  entirely  mine. 

4.  We  must  believe  that  He  receives 
the  consecration  we  make.  He  is  as 
earnest  and  as  willing  and  as  real 
about  it  as  you  are.  Amid  the  hush 
of  heaven  He  stoops  to  hear  your 
vows,  and  He  whispers  when  you 
have  finished.  '^It  is  done.  I  will 
give  to  him  of  the  fountain  of  the 
water  of  life  freely.  He  that  over- 
cometh  shall  inherit  all  things. " 

Many  people  make  a  mistake  about 
some  of  these  steps.  Some  of  them 
are  clinging  to  a  little  of  their  old 


YO  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

goodness  and  therefore  meet  with 
failures.  Others  stumble  at  the 
second  step.  They  do  not  see  that 
Jesus  is  their  complete  Sanctifier. 
And  many  cannot  take  the  third  step 
and  make  a  complete  surrender  of 
everything  to  Him.  Multitudes  fail 
even  when  they  have  taken  these 
steps  in  not  being  able  to  beUeve  that 
Jesus  receives  them.  Keep  these 
four  steps  clear.  ' '  I  am  dead,  my 
own  life  is  surrendered  and  buried 
out  of  sight.  Jesus  is  my  Sanctifier 
and  my  all-in-all.  I  surrender  every- 
thing into  His  hand  for  Him  to  do 
with  as  He  thinks  best.  I  believe 
He  receives  the  dedication  I 
make  to  Him.  I  believe  He 
will   be  in  me   all    I    need    in    this 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  Yl 

life  or  in  the  world  to  come."  I  am 
certain,  dear  friends,  when  you  have 
taken  these  four  steps  you  can  never 
be  as  you  were  before.  Something 
has  been  done  which  can  never  be 
undone.  You  have  become  the 
Lord's.  His  presence  has  come  into 
your  heart  ;  it  may  be  like  a  little 
trickling  spring  upon  the  mountain 
side,  but  it  will  become  great  rivers 
of  depth  and  power. 

V.    PRACTICAL  STEPS 

by  which  this  life  of  sanctification 
is  lived  out  day  by  day. 

1.  We  are  to  live  a  life  of  implicit 
obedience  to  God,  doing  always  what 
He  bids  and  being  henceforth  wholly 
under  His  direction. 


I  2  TIN-:  FOUR-FOl  D  (ifSPEL. 

2.  We  are  to  ])e  ever  li;irk«Miinj^ 
diligently  to  His  voice.  Wr  will  need 
to  listen  closely,  for  Jesus  spi^aks 
softly. 

3.  In  every  time  of  conflict  or 
temptation  or  testing,  wt^arc  to  draw- 
near  to  God  and  give  the  matter  over 
to  Him.  Instead  of  the  sweet  and 
happy  experiences  you  would  natur- 
ally expect  after  such  a  consecration, 
the  devil  comes  and  tries  to  shake 
your  confidence  by  some  trial  or 
temptation.  Stand  in  Him  and  re- 
joice that  He  counts  you  worthy  to 
receive  such  trials.  If  you  fail,  don't 
say  it  is  no  use  to  try  further.  The 
principle  is  right.  Perhaps  you  tried 
to  do  the  work  yourself  and  so  you 
failed.     Stop  and  lay  it  all  at  His 


CHRIST  OUR  SANCTIFIER.  73 

feet  and  start  afresh,  and  learn  to 
abide  in  Him  from  your  very  failure. 
Israel,  after  their  defeat  at  Ai,  were 
stronger  for  the  next  conflict.  Try 
to  live  out  the  secret  you  have 
learned.  In  human  art  there  is 
always  stumbling  at  first.  You  can 
learn  the  principles  of  stenography 
in  a  very  little  while,  a  few  hours 
perhaps,  but  it  takes  months  of 
patient  practice  to  become  expert  at 
it.  At  one  of  our  Western  meetings 
recently,  a  lady  was  taking  verbatim 
reports  of  the  addresses.  She  was 
sitting  at  a  little  table  with  an  in- 
strument they  call  a  stenograph. 
By  touching  the  keys  of  this  instru- 
ment a  little  needle  cut  impressions 
on  a  paper  ribbon,  representing  with 


74:  THE  FOUR- FOLD  GOSPEL. 

perfect  accuracy  the  words  that 
were  spoken.  She  was  able  to  learn 
the  principle  in  a  few  hours,  but  it 
took  many  many  more  hours  of  quiet 
practice  before  she  was  so  accus- 
tomed to  it  that  she  could  do  it 
easily.  The  moment  we  are  conse- 
crated to  Jesus  Christ  we  learn  the 
secret  that  He  is  to  be  all-in-all  to  us. 
But  when  we  try  to  practice  this 
truth,  we  find  that  it  takes  time  and 
patience  to  learn  it  thoroughly.  We 
must  learn  to  lean  on  Him.  We  must 
learn  little  by  little  how  to  take 
Him  for  every  need.  The  principle 
is  perfect.  It  will  become  absolutely 
unfailing  in  practice.  Remember  the 
secret  of  it  is,  ' '  Without  Me  ye  can 
do  nothing."  ''I  can  do  all  things 
in  Christ,  who  strengtheneth  me." 


III. 

CHRIST   OUR  HEALER. 

Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bare  our 
sickness. — Matt,  viii  :  17.  Jesus  Christ  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever,  Heb. 
xiii :  8. 

I.     WHAT   DIVIXE   HEALIXG   IS   NOT. 

E  WILL  look  at  its  negative 

side    first.     Wherever   good 

is  to  be  found  a  counterfeit 

of  it  also    will    soon    appear.     Any 

valuable  coin  is  always  imitated,  and 

the  great  forger  has  been  at  work  on 

this  also.     It  is  particularly  necessary 

with   this  precious  truth    to    guard 

against  error. 
75 


TO  THE  FOUK-FOIJJ  G08PRT.. 

1.  Diviiir  liraliiii;-  is  not  medical 
healing.  It  does  not  come  to  us 
tln-ongh  medicines,  nor  is  it  God's 
especial  blessing  on  remedies  and 
means.  It  is  the  direct  power  of  tlie 
Alniiglily  liand  of  Gcxl  Himself. 
"  Himself  took  our  infirmities,"  and 
He  is  able  t(^  cany  tliem  without 
man's  helj).  We  have  nothing  to  say 
against  the  use  of  remedies  so  far  as 
those  are  conceriKMl  who  are  not 
ready  to  trust  their  bodies  fully  to 
the  Lord.  For  them  it  is  well  enough 
to  use  all  the  help  that  nature  and 
science  can  give,  and  we  cheerfully 
admit  that  their  remedies  have  some 
value  as  far  as  they  go.  There  is 
some  power  in  man's  attempts  to 
stop  the  tides  of  evil  that  sweep  over 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  77 

a  suffering  world.  But  there  comes 
a  point  in  all  efforts  when  we  have 
to  say,  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go 
and  no  further. "  Yet  no  one  ought 
rashly  to  give  up  these  human  helps 
until  they  have  got  a  better  one. 
Unless  they  have  been  led  to  trust 
Christ  entirely  for  something  higher 
and  stronger  than  their  natural  life, 
they  had  better  stick  to  natural 
remedies.  They  need  to  be  sure  that 
God's  Word  distinctly  presents  heal- 
ing for  disease,  and  does  it  as  defi- 
nitely as  it  does  forgiveness  of  sin. 

2.  Divine  healing  is  not  metaphy- 
sical healing.  It  is  not  a  system  of 
rationalism,  which  is  taking  on  so 
many  forms  in  the  world  to-day,  like 
the  chameleon,  assuming  the  hue-  of 


78  THE  FOUK-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

the  surrounding  foliage,  according  to 
the  class  of  })eople  it  conies  in  con- 
tact with.  What  is  connnonly  known 
as  mind  cure  or  Christian  science,  is 
one  of  the  most  familial-  forms  of 
inetai)hysical  healing.  In  Chicago 
they  call  it  the  Science  of  Life,  hut 
it  is  practically  the  same  thing.  It 
l»uts  knowledge  and  intellect,  or  the 
mind  of  man  in  the  i)lace  of  God.  It 
is  not  healing  hy  remedies,  hut  hy 
mental  force.  It  is  a  system  of  false 
philosophy  and  a  skeptical  theology  ; 
a  philosophy  that  is  ahsurd  and  mis- 
leading, and  a  theology  which  is 
atheistic  and  infidel.  The  hasis  of  it 
is,  that  the  material  world  is  not 
real.  AVhat  seem  to  he  facts  are 
simply  ideas.  This  church  is  only  a  cir- 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  79 

cular  idea  in  my  brain,  and  you  chance 
to  have  the  same  idea  in  yom^s,  and 
so  we  call  it  a  church  ;  but  it  is  not, 
it  is  only  an  idea.  As  you  sit  there 
before  me  you  are  not  there  in 
tangible  form,  but  I  have  an  idea  of 
you  in  my  brain,  as  sitting  there.  I 
am  not  here  either  in  any  physical 
sense,  but  I,  too,  am  an  idea  lodged  in 
your  mind.  So  the  teachers  of  this 
error  go  on  to  say  that  there  is  no 
body.  Disease,  therefore,  is  not  real 
because  it  has  no  basis  to  work  on. 
If  you  accept  this  philosophy,  the 
bottom  will  drop  out  of  all  disease. 
If  the  idea  of  sickness  has  gone  from 
your  mind,  the  trouble  has  gone. 
This  is  a  frank,  candid  statement  of 
the  principles  of  this  theory.     It  has 


80  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

captivated  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people  in  this  country  and  lunidreds 
of  thousands  of  doUars  have  been 
made  out  of  it.  It  is  the  old  philos- 
ophy of  Hume  revived  again.  The 
Bible  is  treated  by  these  teachers  in 
the  same  way  as  tlie  body.  It  is  a 
beautiful  system  of  ideas,  but  they 
are  only  ideas.  Genesis  is  a  beauti- 
ful story  of  creation,  but  it  is  only  an 
allegory.  The  New  Testament  con- 
tains a  cliaiiniiiL;-  picture  of  Jesus 
Christ,  but  it,  too,  luis  no  foundation 
in  fact.  It  is  the  old  errors  that 
the  Apostle  John  wrote  strongly 
against.  "Every spirit  that  confess- 
eth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come 
in  the  flesh,  is  not  of  God  :  and  this 
is  that  spirit  of  Anti-Christ,  where- 


CHRIST  OUR  HEALER.  81 

of  ye  have  heard  that  it  should 
come  ;  and  even  now  abeady  is  it  in 
the  world."  This  philosophy  denies 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  come  in  the 
flesh.  It  denies  the  reality  of  Christ's 
body  ;  therefore,  it  is  anti-Christism 
in  its  teaching.  This  is  not  Divine 
healing.  There  is  no  fellowship  be- 
tween the  two.  ±t  is  one  of  the  de- 
lusions of  science,  falsely  so  called. 
It  would  undermine  Christianity. 
Some  of  us  have  despised  it  so  much 
that  perhaps  we  have  not  guarded 
others  against  it  as  we  should.  We 
have  felt  it  was  so  silly  there  could 
be  no  harm  in  it ;  but  we  forget  ho\\' 
silly  human  nature  is.  The  apostle 
tells  us  the  wise  in  this  world  are 
fools  with    God.     "He    taketh    the 


82  THE  FOUR- FOLD  GOSPEL. 

wise  in  thoir  own  ci-aftinoss."  TIow 
ti'uly  this  lias  been  fulfil Ird  in  \ho 
case  of  New  En<»:lan(l  !  That  land  of 
colleges,  the  seat  of  American  intel- 
ligence and  culture,  has  given  hirth 
to  this  monstrosity.  It  is  the  most 
fatal  infidelity.  It  does  away  en- 
tirely with  the  atonement,  for  as 
there  is  no  sin  there  can  he  no  re- 
demption. T  would  rathei-  he  sick 
all  my  life  with  every  form  of  phy- 
sical torment,  than  be  healed  by  such 
a  lie. 

3.  Divine  healing  is  not  magnetic 
healing.  It  is  not  a  mysterious  cur- 
rent which  flows  into  one  body  from 
another.  It  is  a  serious  question 
whether  there  is  such  a  force  in 
nature    as   animal   magnetism,    and 


CHRIST   OUR   HEALER.  83 

whether  what  this  seems  to  be,  is 
not  lather  an  influence  to  which  one 
person's  mind  is  subject  from  causes 
within  itself.  Whether  this  is  so  or 
not,  the  thought  or  claim  of  such  an 
influence  is  repudiated  by  all  who 
act  as  true  ministers  of  Divine  heal- 
ing. Such  a  one  is  most  anxious  to 
keep  his  own  personality  out  of  the 
consciousness  of  the  sufferer,  and 
hold  the  eye  of  the  invalid  only  on 
Christ,  that  he  may  take  his  healing 
from  Him.  There  is  nothing  to  be 
so  much  feared  in  this  work  as  be- 
coming the  object  of  attention.  It 
is  heart  to  heart,  and  soul  to  soul 
contact  with  the  living  Christ,  and 
with  Him  alone,  that  will  accom- 
plish the  result 


84  TUK  FOT'lMT)LD  GOSPEL. 

4.  Divine  lioaling  is  not  s})iritual- 
isni.  It  cannot  l)c  di^niod  tliat  Satan 
has  a  cortain  {Ktwcr  ovov  tlio  Innnan 
Ixxly.  Certainly  lie  must  havo  if  lio 
is  al)l('  to  possess  it  with  disease. 
And.  if  lie  has  power  to  inflict  ill 
hcahh  ujMiii  the  hod y,  T  see  no  reason 
why  he  should  not,  if  he  i)lease,  oi)en 
the  hack  do(H-  and  get  out  and  leave 
the  hody  well.  If  Satan  had  powei- 
to  hind  a  woman  in  Christ's  time,  for 
eighteen  years,  he  had  ])ower  to  nn- 
hind  her  just  as  (piickly.  If  sick- 
ness was  his  work  then,  it  must 
surely  he  the  same  now.  If  he  can 
use  some  persons  better  if  they  are 
strong  and  well,  he  will  do  so.  Other 
instruments  he  can  use  better  in 
weakness  and  pain.     We  cannot  but 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  85 

notice  the  strange  persistency  with 
which  people  of  all  ages  have  re- 
sorted to  evil  powers,  either  to  ap- 
pease them  or  enlist  their  help.  The 
custom  is  as  old  as  the  earliest  races. 
We  find  it  with  the  wild  Indian  in 
the  forest,  and  the  equally  savage 
African.  Particularly  have  these 
wild  incantations  been  performed  for 
the  healing  of  sickness,  and  it  is 
said  that  many  of  them  have  actu- 
ally resulted  in  the  removal  of  the 
disease.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  great  multitudes  of  spiritualistic 
phenomena  are  real.  They  give 
positive  evidence  of  the  reality  of 
evil  spirits,  and  they  are  proofs  of 
God's  terrible  forewarning,  that  in 
the  last    days  the   spirits  of  devils 


S6  THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

shall  1k'  upon  the  eaitli  working 
miracles,  so  that,  if  i)()ssil)le,  tliey 
shall  deceive  the  vei-y  elect.  God's 
true  cliild  will  ii<»t  he  deluded  hy 
them.  If  you  ;iiv  dccoivcd  al)out 
this  tliiii.L;-.  lonk  out  !  ^'ou  iii.iy  not  he 
God's  true  eiiild.  I  warn  you  as  you 
value  your  true  wdrarc  avoid  this 
seductive  suaiv.  ^'ou  will  lind  in  it 
some  reality,  hut  it  is  a  daugerous 
|»oW('i-  and  it  will  suhnici-ge  your 
Christian  laitli  hrjicath  its  liidoous 
waves. 

r>.  Divine  hcalini;'  is  not  praver 
rure.  There  aic  many  Chiistians 
who  greatly  desii-e  others  to  pray  lor 
them.  If  they  can  secure  a  certain 
tpiantity  of  })rayor  there  will  come 
a  corresponding   inllueiice  for    good 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  87 

upon  them,  and  if  all  the  Christians 
in  the  world  were  to  pray  for  them, 
they  would  expect  to  be  healed. 
There  is  a  general  notion  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  power  in  prayer 
which  must  have  an  effect  if  it  can 
be  concentrated.  And  if  enough  of 
it  could  be  obtained,  it  would  leniove 
mountains  and  perhaps  be  able  to 
break  down  God's  stubborn  will. 
This  is  practically  what  this  view 
teaches.  There  is  no  power  in  prayer 
unless  it  is  the  prayer  of  God  Him- 
self. Unless  you  are  in  contact  with 
Christ  the  living  Healer,  there  is  no 
healing.  Christ's  healing  is  by  His 
own  Divine  touch.  It  is  not  prayer 
cure,  but  Christ-Healing. 

6.  Divine  healing  is  not  faith  cure. 


88  THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

Tlir  tcnil    ^ixr^  ;i   WToIli;     illljUTSsioll, 

.111(1  I  am  ^I.kI  it  lias  hmi  discardt'd. 
'I'hrir  is  (laiiL;ri-  (if  ;j.ctt  iii^'  one's  mil  id 
so  cKiicfiit  latrd    oil  tailli  that  it  may 

(•ollic      ItrlWrrll       tlic      S(»ul     alld     (iod. 

>'(>ii  liiiulit  as  Well  «'.\i>«'(t  voiii-  tail  1 1 
t(»  Ileal  y(»ii.  as  to  attejiijit  to  drink 
I  idiii  t  lir  liandli-  <•(■  the  <liaiii  pump 
with  wliicli  \(»n  ^t-t  lirsli  watn,  or 
to  cat  llir  tiay  npou  wliidi  youi' 
dm  lire  i>  hi-oni;lit.  It  yoii  i;rt  t(» 
loiikiu;^-  at  youi'  lailli,  yon  will  lose 
tlir  laitli  it^rlf.  It  is  (i(MJ  w  Ik.  lirals 
always.  The  less  wr  dwrll  on  the 
prayt'is,  the  faith,  or  any  of  tlu* 
means  thion^h  which  it  comes,  the 
moir  likely  we  will  he  to  receive  the 
blessing. 

7.   Divine  healing  is  not  will  power. 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  89 

No  person  can  grapple  with  his  own 
helplessness  and  turn  it  over  into 
strength.  It  is  a  principle  of  me- 
chanics that  no  body  can  move  itself. 
There  must  be  some  power  outside 
of  itself  to  do  this.  Archimedes  said 
he  would  be  able  to  pry  up  the  world 
if  he  could  get  some  power  outside 
of  it  to  operate  on  it  ;  but  he  could 
not  do  it  from  the  inside.  If  man 
is  down,  all  the  power  in  his  own 
soul  will  not  avail  to  lift  him  uj). 
The  trouble  too  often  is  in  his  will. 
He  tries  to  take  hold  of  himself  and 
lift  himself  up.  He  must  have  some 
power  outside  of  himself  to  lift  him, 
or  he  wU  remain  down.  The  will 
must  be  yielded  up  to  Christ,  and 
then  He  will  work  in  us  to  will  and 


00  THE    FOUR-FOLD   (iOSPEL. 

(l<^  of  His  good  pleasure.  Tlu'ii  the 
tii'st  th()iii;]it  will  be  how  easy,  how 
<leUghti'ully  simple  it  is  to  receive 
the  ])owur  from  Him  which  wc  need. 
It  is  only  toucliiiiL;"  ( Jod's  li.iiid  and 
receiving  strt 'Hull  1  lioin  His  lite. 

>>.  Divine  healing  is  not  detiaiiec  of 
(Jod's  will.  It  is  not  saying.  **  1  will 
have  this  blessing  wjicllici-  Ilf  wills 
it  (H-not."  It  is  se<*ing  that  in  having 
it  we  hav(^  His  liighest  i)nrpos('  for 
US.  ^Ve  will  not  trust  for  physical 
hraling  till  we  know  it  is  God's  Avill 
tor  us,  then  we  can  say,  "1  will  it, 
because  He  wills  it." 

0.  Neither  is  it  physical  immor- 
tality, but  it  is  fullness  of  life  until 
the  life-work  is  done,  and  then  re- 
ceiving our  complete  resurrection  life 
at  the  coming  of  Christ. 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  91 

10.  Divine  healing  is  not  a  mer- 
cenary medical  profession  that  men 
adopt  as  they  would  adopt  a  trade  or 
profession  in  order  to  make  some- 
thing out  of  it.  If  you  find  the  mer- 
cenary idea  appearing  in  it  for  a  mo- 
ment, discountenance  and  repudiate 
it.  All  the  gifts  of  God  aie  as  free 
as  the  blood  of  Calvary. 

II.       WHAT   DIVINE    HEALING   IS. 

1.  It  is  the  supernatural,  Divine 
power  of  God,  infused  into  human 
bodies,  renewing  their  strength  and 
replacing  the  weakness  of  suffering 
human  frames  by  the  life  and  power 
of  God.  It  is  a  touch  of  the  Divine 
omnipotence,  and  nothing  short  of  it. 
It   is  the    same    power   that  raised 


92  THE   FOUR  FOLD   GOSPEL. 

Jaini.'^"  (laught«-'r  iioni  the  drad  or 
coiivt'itrd  your  soul.  Is  it  straugc 
tliat  (iod  should  show  sucli  powci- f 
^h)r«'  jMtwcr  is  riMjuircd  to  n'«^i'ii('iat(' 
a  lo>i  sold  than  to  raisr  thr  dead. 
( lod  could  >lii\  (•!•  the  scpnlcliic  and 
hriiii;-  oiit  t  lir  tonus  of  tlioM'  w  ho 
liaxf  lain  there  tor  years,  with  less 
expeiiditnie   of    jtowei-    tlian    it    costs 

1  1  ilM  to  I'edeeni  olle  soul.  and  keej) 
His  s.niits  steadta^t   unto  the  end. 

2J.  It  is  founded,  not  on  the  icason 
iuLC  of  man,  or  the  te-t  iniony  of  those 
wh<»  hav«'  IxMii  healed,  hut  on  the 
Word  of  (.iod  alone.  All  tli<'  testi- 
mony that  conld  l)e  ^atheied  from 
the  whole  uni\«'ise  would  not  estah- 
lish  the  trutli  of  such  a  doctrine,  if  it 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Scrii)tLues. 


CHRIST  OUR  HEALER.  93 

All  the  deductions  of  the  human  in- 
tellect ai'e  worthless  if  they  are  not 
rooted  there.  This  truth  rests  on 
God's  eternal  word,  or  it  is  merely 
human. 

3.  It  ever  recognizes  the  will  of 
God,  and  bows  to  that  in  profound 
submission.  A  Christian  who  is  look- 
ing for  Divine  healing  will  wait  till 
he  knows  the  will  of  God,  and  hav- 
ing learned  that,  he  will  claim  it 
without  wavering.  If  a  sufferer  is 
convinced  that  the  work  God  gave 
him  to  do  is  done,  and  that  now  he  is 
called  home,  then  he  should  acquiesce 
in  that  will  and  lie  down  in  those 
blessed  arms  and  rest.  If  that  con- 
viction has  come  to  any  of  you,  dear 
friends,  I  would  not  dare  to  shake 


04  THK    I'OUHrOLD    (JOSPKL. 

ynii   Milt    iA'   it .    if   N'oii   li;i\i'  limi    led 
into    il    li\    ( l«»(l.      M  \-    (»iil\     t  Ik  (11^1  it 
would    1m'    \i)    swcL'tly   sinootlir  your 
last    pillow,   and     Irt    you    drj>art    in 
pracr.      if,  liowfvrr.  you   think  youi- 
work    is   Hot    doll.',  if    you   liavf   not 
ch'ar  li_L;"lit  froiii    (lod    that    this   i^s**. 
il  tliriri^  a    Iruf  ami  >uhnii^si\  .•  dr 
sire  in  your  ln-ait    to   li\r  and   tiinsii 
your  coui'sc   with    joy,  thru    He   who 
said  nraily   two  thousand   yr.ir^  a^o, 
"  <  MiL;ht  n<»t  this  woman  to  he  loosed 
fioin  thi^  intiiniity  r   '\<  tin-  sanir  to 
day  as  Hr   was    thru.      Me   is  sayini; 
to  you   in   thr  midst   of  your   weak- 
ness,   "  Ou<j;ht    you   not    to   he   made 
well  r  Surely  that  should  he  enough. 
It     may    he.     howevei-.    that    y(»ui 
sickness  has  been  allowed  to  come  as 


CHRIST   OUR   HEALER.  95 

a  discipline.  You  may  have  been 
holding  back  part  of  the  full  testi- 
mony or  service  Christ  has  called  you 
to.  I  am  afraid,  then,  you  cannot  be 
healed  till  that  difficulty  is  made 
right.  You  may  be  in  some  wrong 
and  crooked  attitude.  He  probably 
will  not  restore  you  till  that  is  ad- 
justed. He  may  have  called  you  to 
some  service  and  you  are  holding 
back.  There  will  not  be  healing  for 
the  body  till  you  have  yielded  at  this 
point.  There  are  hundreds  of  mean- 
ings in  the  sicknesses  that  are  al- 
lowed to  come  upon  God's  dear  chil- 
dren, and  He  will  show  you  what 
His  voice  is  for  you.  ''  For  God 
speaketh  once,  yea  twice,  yet  man 
perceiveth  it  not.     In  a  dream,  in  a 


or;  TIIK  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPKL. 

vision  of  the  ni^lit.  wiicn  doc])  sloo]i 
talh'tli  ii|i(»ii  iiirn  in  slnnilxMings 
upon  t  lir  ImmI.  then  I  Ic  o|M'n('tli  tlic 
ears  of  nu'H.  .nid  scalrth  tln'ir  in 
struction,  tli.il  11»'  may  witluliaw 
man  fiom  lii^  purpose,  and  hidr 
j)ridu  from  man.  He  krepctli  l)ack 
liis  soul  from  tlir  pit.  and  hi-^  life 
from  prrisiiiuj^- 1»\  t lit- ^w oid.  lie  is 
(•liast<'ned  also  with  jtain  upon  his 
hcd.  and  th<'  limit  itud*-  <>f  his  hones 
with  strong-  i»ain  :  so  th.it  his  lifo 
ahhoircth  hi-cad,  and  his  soul  dainty 
meat.  His  llesh  is  consumrd  away, 
tliat  it  cannot  he  seen  ;  and  his  bones 
that  were  not  seen,  stick  out.  Yea, 
his  soul  drawcth  iirai'  imto  the  i^-i'ave, 
and  his  life  to  thr  drstroyers.  If 
there   he  a  messenger   with   liim.  an 


CHRIST  OUR  HEALER.  97 

interpreter,  one  among  a  thousand, 
to  show  unto  man  his  uprightness, 
then  He  is  gracious  unto  him,  and 
saith,  '  Dehver  him  from  going 
down  to  the  pit  :  I  have  found  a 
ransom.'  His  flesh  shall  be  fresher 
than  a  child's  ;  he  shall  return  to 
the  days  of  his  youth."  That  is  the 
meaning  of  many  of  G-od's  chasten- 
ings.  There  is  much  that  He  would 
say  to  men  through  His  dealings 
with  their  bodies,  and  it  is  necessary 
to  get  their  full  meaning  into  the 
soul  before  Divine  healing  can  be 
received,  and  kept  after  it  has  been 
received.  It  is  not  a  cast-iron  patent 
that  works  inexorably  in  one  way 
always  ;  it  requires  a  walk  that  is 
very    close    with   God.     When    the 


98  THE    FOUR  FOLD   GOSPEL. 

soul  is  thus  walking  in  harmony  and 
obedience  to  Him,  thf  life  of  (xod 
can  fully  flow  into  the  body.  Thank 
God,  we  cannot  liavc  it  and  liav(>  the 
devil,  too. 

8.  Divini'  licahiiL;"  is  part  of  the 
redemption  work  nf  Jesus  C'hrist. 
It  is  one  of  tlic  things  He  came  to 
bring.  Its  foundation  stonc^  is  the 
cross  of  Calvary.  "He  redeenu'th 
thy  life  fiom  destruction."  '' De- 
livci'  him  from  going  down  [o  death, 
I  have  found  a  raiison."  Surely  that 
healing  comes  from  Himself  alone. 
"By  His  stripes  we  are  healed." 
That  is  the  redemption  work  of 
Christ.  You  liave  a  right  to  do  it, 
beloved,  for  His  body  bore  all  the 
liabilitv  of  vour  bodv  on  the  cross. 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  99 

Take  it  and  love  Him  better,  because 
it  came  from  His  stripes.  I  love  to 
think  of  that  word  as  being  in  the 
singular  number,  stripe.  That  is 
the  Greek  meaning.  His  body  was 
so  beaten  that  it  was  all  one  stripe. 
There  was  not  an  inch  of  His  flesh 
but  Avas  lacerated  for  us.  There  is 
not  a  fibre  of  your  body  but  Christ 
has  suffered  there  to  redeem  it. 

4.  Divine  healing  comes  to  us 
through  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 
rose  from  the  dead  in  His  own  body. 
He  has  gone  up  to  heaven  with  His 
living  body.  You  can  see  Him  there 
this  morning,  with  hands  and  feet  of 
living  flesh  and  bones,  which  you 
could  handle.  He  could  sit  with  you 
at  the  table  and  eat  to-day  as  He  did 


lOU         THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

of  old.  He  is  no  sliadowv  tloud  like 
form,  l»nt  lie  has  tlcsh  and  blood  as 
we  have.  Tliat  is  our  Christ,  a  living 
pliysical  C'iirist,  and  He  is  ahle  and 
willing  to  share  His  ])hysical  lil'e  with 
you,  by  breathing  into  you  His 
strength.  We  are  healed  by  the  life 
of  Christ  in  our  body.  It  is  a  tender 
union  with  Him  :  nearer  tliaii  the 
bond  of  connubial  oneness;  so  near 
that  the  very  life  of  His  veins  is  trans- 
fused into  yours.  That  is  Divine 
liealing. 

.").  It  is  the  work  of  Hk^  Holy  Spirit, 
quickening  the  body.  When  Christ 
healed  the  sick  while  He  was  upon 
earth,  it  was  not  by  the  Deity  that 
dwelt  in  His  luirnanity.  He  said, 
"  If  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  101 

God,  then  the  KiDgdom  of  God  is 
come  unto  you."  Jesus  healed  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  ''  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  poor,  to  heal  the  broken  hearts." 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  agent,  then, 
by  which  this  great  power  is  wrought. 
Especially  should  we  expect  to  see 
His  working  in  these  days,  because 
they  are  the  days  of  His  own  Dispen- 
sation, the  days  in  which  it  has  been 
prophesied  that  there  shall  be  signs 
and  wonders.  How  did  Samson  re- 
ceive his  strength  ?  When  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  came  upon  him.  Then 
he  was  able  to  hurl  the  temple  into 
ruins  and  their  god  Dagon  with  it. 
The  Spirit  of  God  was  in  his  flesh. 


102         THE   FOUR-FOT.D   OOS^PEL. 

So  whon  tliis  electric  firr  is  iiiimin*:; 
throu^li  our  fi-ain<',  it  l)riiii;s  liralin^ 
and  strength  to  every  fibre. 

0.  Divine  lipalin.i;-  comes  by  the 
grace  of  God,  n<»t  through  the  work 
of"  mail.  It  camiot  l»r  Ixiught,  neither 
can  it  he  worked  tor.  We  camiot 
lielp  God  out  in  it.  We  nui-t  take  it 
as  a  gift.  It  comes  to  us  as  ])ai-don 
does,  a  free  gift  IVom  llim. 

7.  It  conies  to  us  by  faith.  It  is 
not  the  faith  that  lieals.  God  heals, 
but  faith  receives  it.  We  believe 
that  God  is  healing  before  any  evi- 
dence is  given.  It  is  to  be  beli<'ved 
as  a  present  reality,  and  then  ven- 
tured on.  We  are  to  act  as  if  it  were 
already  true.  God  wants  us  to  lean 
on  Him,  and  trust  Him,  and  tlien  re- 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  103 

joice  and  praise  Him  for  what  He 
has  given,  with  uo  doubt  or  fear. 

8.  Divine  heahng  is  in  accordance 
with  all  the  facts  of  Church  history. 
From  the  time  of  Iraeneus  down  to 
the  present  century  there  have  been 
repeated  examples  of  it.  It  is  a  long 
array,  and  great  multitudes  of  healed 
ones  proclaim  with  one  voice  :  ' '  Jesus 
Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to- 
day, and  forever. "  All  down  through 
the  middle  ages  the  pure  Church  be- 
lieved this  truth  and  taught  it.  The 
Waldenses  held  it  as  an  article  of 
their  faith.  The  times  of  the  early 
Eef ormers  are  full  of  it.  The  hves  of 
Luther  and  Baxter,  and  Fox  and 
Whitfield,  and  John  Wesley,  give 
clear  and  convincing  testimony  that 


104         TIIF    FOrU -FOLD    (losPKL. 

they  lM']i(»v»Ml  this  tnitli.  In  l.ttn 
times  tlir  cxaiiiplcs  of  it  .irr  inmici- 
OUS.  Grniiaiiy,  Swit/cilaiid.  Swrdcii, 
Norway,  Kiii^Iaiid  and  hcj-  colonic^s, 
and  the  mission  fields  of  thr  world, 
have  many  witnesses  to  thr  hraliti^ 
power  of  Jesus.  Oui-  own  land,  and 
even  oui-  own  city,  are  lull  (»!"  it. 
You  have  many  witnesses  to  it  hnr 
in  your  midst.  You  know  then],  and 
how  some  of  them  have  stood  the 
test  oi'  i>ul>li(ity  and  of  years.  Tliey 
are  not  obscure  cases.  Many  of  t  hem 
are  men  and  women  wlio  liave  stood 
in  the  very  front  of  Christian  work. 
There  is  every  kind  of  character  and 
intelHgence  and  temperament  and 
disposition  among  them.  There  are 
children  among  them,  as  well  as  old 


CHRIST   OUR   HEALER.  105 

men.  Some  of  them  have  had  lofty 
intellects,  but  they  have  been  trans- 
formed into  simple  children.  There 
are  all  classes  of  disease  among  them 
— from  the  terrible  cancer  to  the  most 
disordered  of  nervous  organisms. 
And  He  has  healed  them  all. 

9.  Divine  healing  is  one  of  the 
signs  of  the  age.  It  is  the  forerunner 
of  Christ's  coming.  It  is  God's  an- 
swer to  the  infidelity  of  to-day.  Man 
may  try  to  reason  it  down  with  the 
force  of  his  intellect.  God  meets  it 
with  this  unanswerable  proof  of  His 
power. 

HI.    HOW  IS    JESUS   OUR    HEALER? 

1 .  Because  He  has  brought  healing 
for  us  with  His  stripes.     It  is  a  part 


106        THE  FOUR-FOLD  GOSPEL. 

of  His  purchased  ledemption  on  Cal- 
vary. ''Surely,  He  liatli  ])()ine  our 
sicknesses  and  carried  our  pains." 

i\  Because  it  is  in  His  risen  lilV  in 
us.  We  have  heaHng  not  only  fi'oin 
Jesus,  hut  in  Jesus.  It  is  in  His 
living  body,  and  we  receive  it  as  we 
abide  in  Him  and  keep  it  only  as  we 
abide  in  Him. 

3.  Because  He  enables  us  to  take  it 
by  becoming  our  power  to  believe. 
He  gives  the  faith  to  tmst  Him  if  we 
will  receive  it.  We  have  not  to  climb 
the  heights  to  find  Him,  but  He 
comes  down  to  our  helplessness  and 
becomes  our  trust  as  well  as  our 
healing.  A  Chinaman  was  once  tell- 
ing the  difference  between  Christ  and 
Confucius  and   Buddha.      He   said  : 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  107 

^*  I  was  down  in  a  deep  pit,  half  sunk 
in  the  mire  and  was  crying  for  some 
one  to  help  me  out.  As  I  looked  up 
I  saw  a  venerable,  gray-haired  man 
looking  down  at  me.  His  counte- 
nance bore  the  marks  of  his  pure  and 
holy  spirit.  '  My  son,'  he  said,  '  this 
is  a  dreadful  place. '  '  Yes, '  I  said, 
'  I  fell  into  it.  Can't  you  help  me 
out?'  'My  son,'  he  said,  'I  am 
Confucius.  If  you  had  read  my 
books  and  followed  what  they  taught, 
you  never  would  have  been  here.' 
^Yes,  father,' I  said,  'but  can't  you 
help  me  out?'  As  I  looked  up  he 
was  gone.  Soon  I  saw  another  form 
approaching,  and  another  man  bent 
over  me,  this  time  with  closed  eyes 
and  folded  arms.     He  seemed  to  be 


lOS        THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

lookiiit;  into  some  far-off,  distant 
])la(*(\  '  My  son,'  he  said,  '  just  dose 
your  eyos  and  fold  your  arms  and 
forget  all  about  yourself.  Get  into  a 
state  of  perfect  rest.  Don't  think 
about  anything  that  could  disturb. 
Get  so  still  that  nothing  can  move 
you.  Then,  my  child,  you  will  be  in 
such  delicious  rest  ns  I  .un.  'Yes, 
father,'  I  answered,  '  I'll  do  that 
when  I  am  above  ground.  Can't 
you  help  me  out  ? '  But  Buddha, 
too,  was  gone.  I  w^as  just  l>eginning 
to  sink  into  despair  when  I  saw  an- 
other figure  above  me,  different  from 
the  others.  He  was  very  simple,  and 
looked  just  like  the  rest  of  us,  but 
there  w^ere  the  marks  of  suffering  in 
His  face.     I  cried  out  to  Him  :    'Oh, 


CHRIST   OUR  HEALER.  109 

Father,  can  you  help  me  ? '  '  My 
child, '  He  said,  ^  what  is  the  matter  ? ' 
Before  I  could  answer  Him,  He  was 
dov/n  in  the  mire  by  my  side  ;  He 
folded  his  arms  about  me  and  lifted 
me  up,  and  then  He  fed  and  rested 
me.  When  I  was  well,  He  did  not 
say,  '  Now,  don't  do  that  again,'  but 
He  said,  '  We  will  walk  on  together 
now  ; '  and  we  have  been  walking  to- 
gether until  this  day." 

That's  what  Jesus  Christ  will  do 
for  you,  beloved  !  He  comes  down 
to  you  where  you  are.  He  becomes 
your  trust  within  you,  and  then  you 
go  on  together  until  the  resurrection 
light  and  glory  of  the  coming  age 
bursts  in  upon  you.  May  God  help 
us  all  to  receive  Him  thus  fully  for 
His  own  name's  sake  I     Amen. 


IV. 
CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD. 

I  will  give  liiin  the  morning  star.    Rev.  ii:  28. 

^HE  SECOND  COMING  of  the 
V|J     Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  distinct 

T  and  important  part  of  the 
Apostohc  Gospel.  '*I  declare  unto 
you  the  G()S})el,"  Paul  says  to  the 
Corinthians,  and  then  hegins  to  tell 
them  of  the  Resurrection  and  the 
second  Advent.  It  is,  indeed,  good 
news  to  all  who  love  Him  and  mourn 
the  sins  and  sorrows  of  a  iTiined 
world. 

It  is   the  glorious  culmination  of 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.       Ill 

all  other  parts  of  the  Gospel .  We 
have  spoken  of  the  Gospel  of  Sal- 
vation, but  Peter  says  our  salvation 
is  ^^  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time."  Then  only,  when  we  stand 
amid  the  wreck  of  time  and  secure 
upon  the  Eock  of  Ages, 

"Then,  Lord,  shall  we  fully  know, 
Not  till  then,  how  much  we  owe." 

We  have  spoken  of  Sanctifica- 
TiON,  but  John  says:  '^When  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him, 
and  every  man  that  hath  this  hope 
in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  He 
is  pure."  And  we  have  spoken  of 
Divine  Healing,  but  Paul  says  : 
'^God  hath  given  us  the  'earnest' 
of  the  resurrection  in  our  bodies 
now,"  and  Divine  healing  is  but  the 


112         THE   FOUK-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

first  -  springing  life  of  wliich  the 
resurrection  will  be  the  full  fruition. 
So  that  the  trutli  and  hope  of  the 
Lord's  coming  is  linked  with  all  truth 
and  life,  and  is  the  Church's  great 
and  hk'sscd  hopf.  In  the  very  he- 
i;iiiningof  human  history  God  placed 
this  great  hope  hefore  His  children. 
In  the  hour  when  man  fell  from 
Paradise,  God  erected  in  that  fallen 
Eden,  in  tlir  majestic  figiu'es  of  the 
CHERUr.lM,  the  jnophrcv  and  symbol 
of  man's  future  glory.  The  faces  of 
the  lion,  the  ox,  the  man,  and  the 
eagle,  w«.'ie  the  types  of  the  royalty, 
the  strength,  the  wisdom,  and  the 
lofty  elevation  to  which  redeemed 
man  was  to  rise  in  Jesus.  These 
figures  run  through  all  the  dispensa- 


CHRIST  OUR   COMING   LORD.       118 

tions.  They  are  God's  portrait  of 
His  redeemed  child  after  redemp- 
tion's work  is  done.  God  sets  before 
Himself  and  before  man  His  sublime 
ideal  for  his  future,  and  He  will  never 
rest  till  it  is  fulfilled.  It  is,  there- 
fore, well  that  besides  the  Gospel  for 
the  present,  we  should  understand, 
and  live  under  the  power  of  the 
GOSPEL  OF  THE  FUTURE  and  the 
blessed  and  purifying  hope  of 
Christ's  glorious  coming. 

I.      WHAT  WE   MEAN    BY   CHRIST'S 
COMING. 

1.  We  do  not  mean  His  coming  to 
the  individual  Christian's  heart.  He 
does  thus  come  most  truly  and  gra- 
ciously, and  this  is  the  blessed  mys- 


1  14  I'lIK    For IM^oLD    cosi'KL. 

stery  of  wliicli  \vr  have  already 
spoken  in  ((Hiiicctioii  witli  our  sanc- 
tification.  It  is  "duist  in  you,  the 
hope  of  gloiy."  But  this  is  not  His 
second  coming.  Some  persons  are 
ready  to  say,  with  a  great  show  of 
spirituahty,  T  liave  the  millennium 
in  my  lieart,  and  tlu^  T^ord  in  my 
heart ;  l(^t  those  who  liave  not,  spec- 
ulate ahout  a  material  coming.  Well, 
Paul  had  the  Lord  in  his  heart,  and 
a  millennium  as  near  to  the  third 
heaven  as  these  persons  will  proh- 
ably  claim  ;  and  John  was  about  as 
near  his  Redeemer's  heart  as  any  of 
us  can  ever  expect  to  get  on  earth  ; 
but  they  did  speak  and  wa4te  in 
terms  like  this  :  ' '  Then  we  which 
are  alive,  and  remain  unto  the  com- 


CHRIST   OUR  COMIXG   LORD.       115 

ing  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  caught  up 
in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air."  ^'We  know  that  when  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  appear  with 
Him  in  glory."  '^Behold,  He  cometh 
with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see 
Him.     Even  so,   come.  Lord  Jesus." 

Indeed,  the  more  we  know  Jesus 
spiritually,  the  more  will  we  long  for 
His  personal  and  eternal  presence  in 
the  fuller  and  more  glorious  sense 
which  His  personal  advent  will 
bring. 

2.  We  do  not  mean  His  coming  at 
death.  It  is  doubtful  whether  He 
does  really  come  for  us  at  death. 
Lazarus  is  represented  as  borne  by 
angels  into  Abraham's  bosom  :  and 
Stephen  at  his    glorious    departing 


116        THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

saw  Jesus  in  heaven  on  the  I'ipjht 
liand  of  (Jofl,  rising,  it  is  true,  to 
receive  and  lionor  his  faitliful  ser- 
vant, hut  not  coming  for  him  per- 
sonally. Tl  1  r  ( •(  n  1  trasts  hetween  death 
and  the  Lord's  coming  are  very 
mark('(l.  AVc  are  not  told  to  watch 
for  death,  hut  are  delivered  from  its 
fear,  ])ut  w(^  are  to  watch  for  the 
Isold's  coming.  Death  is  an  enemy  ; 
His  coming  a  welcome  visitation  of 
our  dearest  friend.  Death  is  a  hit- 
ter hereavement  to  the  heart ;  the 
Lord's  coming  is  the  very  consola- 
tion of  the  bereaved,  and  the  antidote 
of  death.  If  death  and  the  Lord's 
coming  were  identical,  then  the 
apostle  would  have  said  to  the  Thes- 
salonian    believers :    "I    would  not 

■  ■  n 


CHRIST  OUR  COMIXG  LORD.       117 

have  you  ignorant  concerning  them 
that  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not 
as  those  that  have  no  hope,  for  the 
Lord  has  come  for  them,  and  will 
soon  in  like  manner  come  for  you  in 
death,  and  you  shall  be  sweetly 
united  in  death  once  more."  Does 
he  say  that  ?  No  !  But  he  does  say  : 
'•The    Lord    shall    descend     from 

HEAVEN      .       .       .      and    THE     DEAD    IN 

CHRIST  SHALL  RISE  first,  and  then  we 
that  are  alive  shaU  be  caught  up 
together  with  them,  to  meet  the 
Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  we  shall  be 
ever  with  the  Lord."  It  is  not  death 
he  points  them  to,  but  that  which  is 
to  overcome  death,  and  of  which  he 
says  in  writing  to  the  Corintliians  : 
"Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 


118        THE   FOUK-FOLI)   (i()S!>KL. 

saying  that  is  wiittni,  *  Death  is 
swallowed   up  in   victory.'"     If  the 

Lord's  coiiiiu^i;-  is  to  swallow  iij) 
drath  in  victory,  it  is  very  certain 
that  it  cannot  l»c  tli<'  sainr  thini;-,  or 
it  Would  ^wallow  u|»  itself. 

.'-5.  W'c  do  not  njcan  the  s])iritual 
coiniuL:,-  of  Cln-ist  thiou-h  tlic  spread 
of  tiic  (h)s]m1  and  the  progress  of 
C'hi'istianity.  This  is  nowhere  recog- 
nized in  the  P>ihle  as  the  personal 
coming  of  On'ist. 

"Behold,  lie  coineth  with  clouds, 
and  i:\  KKV  kvk  suai.i,  skk  Him.  and 
they    also    which    pierced   Him.   and 

AI.L    KINDHKUS    OF   THK    EARTH    SHALL 

WAH.,  BKC'AUSE  OF  HiM."  Now,  that  is 

not  the  way  they  do  when  tliey  re- 
ceive the  Gospel.    They  rejoice.     But 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.       119 

now  they  are  startled  and  discour- 
aged. And  they  cry,  as  represented 
in  another  place,  to  the  rocks  and  the 
mountains  to  fall  upon  them  and  hide 
them  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb. 
So,  also,  the  angels,  speaking  of  this 
event  to  the  eleven  disciples,  say  : 
"  This  same  Jesus  shall  so  come  in 

LIKE  MANNER    AS    YE    HAVE    SEEN  HiM 

GO  INTO  HEAVEN."  This  camiot  be 
the  publication  of  the  Gospel,  but 
must  be  His  personal,  visible,  and 
GLORIOUS  APPEARING.  The  Gospel  is 
to  be  widely  diffused  ;  His  truth  is 
to  prevail ;  His  cause  is  to  triumph, 
but  He  is  coming  personally,  and  He 
is  infinitely  more  than  even  His 
truth  and  cause. 


120        THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

II.      WHAT    DO    WE    MEAN    BY    THE 
MILLENNIUM  ( 

Some  persons  have  stated  that  the 
doctrine  of  tlic  inilk'iniinni  is  a 
nuKlern  invention,  and  thai  the  word 
itself  is  not  foniid  in  the  Bihle. 

The  word  niilleniiiinn  is  not  Kng;- 
hsh,  hilt  is  the  Greek  word  tor  <f 
iJi()Hsa)i<1  j/ears.  It  is  used  repeatedly 
in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Reve- 
lation t(^  denote  the  |)eriod  during 
which  Christ  shall  reign  with  His 
saints  on  the  earth  after  the  first 
resnrrection.  It  is  a  time  of  victory, 
joy  and  glory.  Seven  especial  facts 
are  recorded  concerning  it  here  : 

1.  The  resurrection  and  re -union 
of  the  saints. 


CHRIST   OUR   COMING   LORD.       121 

2.  Their  reward  and  reign. 

3.  The  complete  exclusion  of  Satan 
from  the  earth. 

4.  The  personal  and  continual  pres- 
ence of  Jesus  with  them  on  earth. 

5.  The  suppression  of  all  enemies 
and  the  universal  reign  of  righteous- 
ness. 

6.  The  duration  of  a  thousand 
years. 

7.  The  immediately  succeeding  re- 
volt of  Satan  and  sinful  man,  and 
the  final  judgment  of  the  wicked. 

If  there  was  no  other  reference  in 
the  Bible  to  this  time  of  blessing, 
these  elements  alone  would  be  suf- 
ficient to  constitute  a  state  and  time 
of  exalted  glory  and  happiness. 
Much  more  do  they  suffice  to  identify 


122        THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

it  as  the  golden  age  of  which  former 
prophets  wrote  and  spake,  when 
righteousness,  truth  and  peace  shall 
"  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea." 
in.  THE  ( niDKK  (  >k  tuksk  two  events. 

This  is  tht'  next  question  to  he  set- 
tled, and  upon  it  hang  most  of  the 
issues  of  the  (pu'stion.  Is  the  coming 
of  Christ  to  precede  (»r  tollow  this 
millennial  i)eriod  ? 

1.  The  most  ohvious  reason  for  he- 
lieving  that  it  precedes  it,  is  foiuid  in 
the  very  passage  just  referred  to 
where  these  events  are  l)oth  de- 
sciihed.  Th<M-e  can  he  no  question 
that  here  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
precedes  and  introduces  the  millen- 
nium.    His  coming  is   minutely  de- 


CHRIST   OUR  COMING  LORD.       123 

pictecl  in  the  whole  procession  from 
heaven  to  earth.  Then  follows  the 
conquest  and  punishment  of  His 
earthly  foes,  the  binding  of  Satan, 
the  resurrection  of  the  saints,  the 
reign  of  the  risen  ones  and  the  thou- 
sand years.  The  only  way  it  is  at- 
tempted to  set  this  aside  is  to  repre- 
sent it  as  figurative  and  spiritual. 
Dean  Alford's  strong  sense  and  hon- 
esty is  the  best  answer  to  this.  If 
this  be  so,  he  declares,  then  adieu  to 
all  definiteness  and  certainty  in  the 
Scriptures.  If  this  be  not  a  literal 
coming,  resurrection,  and  millen- 
nium, then  we  do  not  know  what  our 
Bibles  mean  about  anything. 

2.  The  next  argument  for  Christ's 
premillennial  coming,  is  the  emphatic 


124         THK    FOUK-Fol.n    (iosPKL. 


use  of  tlir  word,  "' A\'at(II,"  in  con- 
iKM'tiun  with  it.  Many  tiiiirsart'  we 
told  to  watcli  t<n-  it.  Now  if  it  is  to 
1m>  picccdcd  l)y  a  Spiritual  iiiilK'ii- 
niuin.  the  Lord  woidd  have  told  us 
t(»  watcli  to|-  this.  liow  could  the 
early  Church  watch  toi-  llis  coming, 
h(>w  can  even  we  if  wc  know  that  it 
is  to  he  jirccrdcd  ]»y  a  clear  thousand 
years  ^  The  very  woid  watch  means 
immanencv.  and  it  i^  not  immanent, 
if  ten  whole  centuries  mu>t  inter- 
vene. If  it  be  ohj(H;te(l  that  as  a 
nuittei-  of  fact  Chiist's  coming  did 
not  occur  during  moi-e  than  ten  cen- 
tuiics,  tliis  does  not  alter  its  imma 
neiicy.  An  event  may  he  liahle  to 
occur  at  any  moment  foi*  years,  and 
yet  be  long  retarded.     That  is  (juite 


CHRIST   OUR   COMING   LORD.      125 

different  from  its  being  understood 
as  not  to  occur  until  the  later  period. 
Although  God  knew  just  the  moment 
when  His  Son  should  appear,  yet  He 
wanted  His  Church  to  be  always  ex- 
pecting it — at  even,  or  at  midnight, 
or  at  cock  crowing,  or  in  tlie  morn- 
ing. The  announcement  of  a  fixed 
previous  millennium  would  have  been 
fatal  to  this  design,  and  the  Church 
would  have  gone  to  work  to  make 
her  own  millennium  without  Him. 
This  is  just  what  the  Romish  Church 
did,  when  Pope  Hildebrand  an- 
nounced in  the  tenth  century  that 
the  millennium  had  begun,  and  that 
Christ  was  already  present  through 
His  vicar.  And  some  Protestant 
teachers  have  the  assumption  to  tell 


1'j!<»         THH    FOrR-FOT.D   GOSPEL. 

US  to-day  tliat  tliis  <vnturv  of  pi-o- 
gress  is  the  first  age  of  the  niilleii- 
iiiiini. 

:-*>.  Tlie  iK^xt  ])roof  of  a  ])roininen- 
nial  coming  is  found  in  the  picture 
Christ  gives  us  of  the  conditiou  of 
tilings  as  they  were  to  be  down  to 
tlie  close  of  the  Chiistiiin  age,  and 
up  to  the  very  hour  of  His  coming. 

Just  glance  at  a  few  hold  touches 
in  the  picture. 

Some  seed  fell  hy  the  wayside  and 
the  fowls  of  the  air  devoured  them  ; 
some  fell  on  stony  places  and  pcn-- 
ished  ;  some  were  choked  hy  thorns, 
and  some  fell  on  good  ground  and 
bore  fruit. 

But  soon  the  enemy  sowed  the 
tares,  aud  both  grow  together  till  the 
harvest. 


CHRIST   OUR   COMING   LORD.      127 

The  Church,  externally,  grows  up 
into  luxuriant  strength  like  the  mus- 
tard plant,  but  internally  is  full  of 
leaven.  The  true  and  pure  are  like 
the  hid  treasure  and  the  pearl,  so 
hard  to  find.  The  net  gathers  of 
every  kind  and  only  the  angels  can 
separate  the  evil  at  the  last. 

As  the  ages  roll  on,  there  looms  up 
the  picture,  not  of  a  millennium,  but 
a '^Falling  away  first."  ^^Wicked- 
ness shall  abound  and  the  love  of 
many  shall  wax  cold. "  '  ^  Many  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to 
doctrines  of  devils."  ^^In  the  last 
days  perilous  times  shall  come." 
There  shall  be  plenty  of  church  mem- 
bers, ^^  having  a  form  of  godliness  ;  " 
but  these  shall  be  the  very  enemies 


lt?S         TIIK   FOUR -FOLD   GOSPKL. 

(>f  the  Cross  ol"  Christ,  "  denying  the 
power  thereof/'  A  holy,  happy 
woild  will  not  hr  waiting  t(^  welcome 
its  King,  hnt  "as  a  snare  shall  He 
^onie  inito  all  that  dwell  on  the 
earth."  "  When  they  shall  say, 
'  Peace  and  safety,  then  sudden  de- 
struction/"  And  when  it  hursts 
upon  them,  it  shall  find  tliem  "  as  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Xoah  and  of  Lot  ;  " 
and  the  Master  even  asks,  "When 
the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  He  fiiid 
faith  on  the  earth  t " 

This  is  God's  picture  of  the  future 
of  earth  until  Christ's  coming.  It 
does  not  look  nnicli  like  a  previous 
millennium. 

No,  nor  does  the  story  of  eighteen 
centuries  move  tow^ards  a  spiritual 


CHRIST   OUR   COMING   LORD.      129 

millennium.  New  York  with  half 
the  proportion  of  church  goers  and 
nearly  double  the  ratio  of  drunkards, 
has  not  grown  any  nearer  to  it  in  two 
hundred  years  ;  London,  with  three 
million  souls  who  never  enter  a 
church  ;  Berlin,  with  one  minister  to 
fifty  thousand  people  ;  these  three 
capitals  of  the  three  great  Protestant 
nations  of  earth  hold  out  no  signal  of 
its  coming.  And  what  shall  we  say 
of  wicked  Paris,  and  rotten  Constan- 
tinople, and  idolatrous  India,  and  con- 
servative China,  and  savage  Africa  ? 
When  is  there  coming  to  them  as 
much  millennial  light  as  we  have  ? 
When  will  the  Christian  nation  begin 
to  move  toward  their  golden  age  ? 
Oh,  if  this  be  the  best  God  has  for  us, 


l;>0         THE    FUUK-FULl)   GOSPEL. 

tlieii  pi'oj)hecy  is  an  rxaggvi'atioii  and 
the  Bible  a  poetic  dieaiii.  Thank 
(Jod,  He  is  (oniinL;  and  His  Kingdom 
shall  transcend  onr  lui^htest  hojic, 
and  His  own  most  i;lo\\  iniz;  pictnre. 

1\.       olUKCrioNS. 


Th(^  strongest  objections  tliat  arc 
made  to  this  doctrine  are  : 

1.  Tt  dishonors  the  woik  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  if  He  were  incom- 
I)etent  to  fulfill  His  administration, 
and  were  represented  as  liaving 
failed  in  His  great  mission  to  con- 
vert the  world,  and  some  other 
means  had  had  to  he  i)rovided.  In 
reply  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  not  undei'taken  to 
convert  the  world,  Init  to  call  out  of 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.      131 

it  the  Church  of  Christ  and  prepare 
a  people  for  His  name,  and  when 
this  is  done,  and  all  who  will  accept 
Jesus  as  a  Saviour  have  been  called, 
converted  and  fully  trained,  the  time 
for  the  next  stage  will  have  come, 
and  Jesus  will  come  to  reign  and  re- 
store His  ancient  people  for  their 
privileges  and  opportunities.  The 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  will  not 
cease  then,  for  He  shall  abide  with 
us  for  ever,  and  the  ages  to  come 
shall  afford  unbounded  and  raore 
glorious  scoj^e  for  His  grace  and 
power. 

2.  It  is  objected  that  such  a  doc- 
trine discourages  Christian  missions, 
and  saps  the  foundations  of  the 
Church's  most  glorious   hopes    and 


132         THK    FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

prospects.  ( )ii  llir  «<tiili;irv.  it  opnis 
a  pi-<>sp(H-t  of  i'nv  ^laiKlcr  i;l<>iv  to 
tlic  Clmrcli  at  Iut  Lord's  appcaiiiiL:,-, 
and  bids  Ikt  ^o  loith,  lapt  with  tin- 
dcsirr  to  jiastcii  it,  to  lucpair  the 
woild  lor  His  apiirarin^  ;  {'nv  as  an 
incentive  to  this  woik.  He  llii!i>t'H" 
has  told  h('i-  that  whni  t  he  incssaj;*' 
of"  salvation  lia^  htcii  pi-oclaimcd  to 
all  thr  \V(.il(L  llh'ii  shall  the  end 
collie,  'riic  lact  i:-  1  hat  a  lari;r  111^1- 
joiily  (»r  the  mi^^ioii.jrics  now  in 
lor('i«^ii  lands  lu'licsc  and  icjoicc  in 
flu*  ]>l('ssrd  ho]»r  of  the  Loril's  coin 
ini;',  ai'c  aniinat('(l  hy  it  to  lahor 
tor  the  World's  cvani;clization,  and 
cliet'iiMl  liy  the  hlcs^ed  thoui;]it  that 
tlk'ir  task  is  not  to  convert  the 
whole  hnniaii  lace,  hut  to  evaiigehze 


CHRIST  OUR   COMING  LORD.      133 

the  nations,  and  give  every  man  a 
chance  to  be  saved  if  he  will  ;  and 
they  would,  indeed,  be  distracted 
and  dismayed  at  the  prospect  they 
behold,  did  they  feel  that  the  world 
must  wait  until  the  present  agencies 
have  wrought  out  its  full  salvation, 
while  meanwhile  three  times  its  en- 
tire population  every  century  is 
swept  into  eternity  unsaved.  The 
coming  of  Christ  is  not  going  to  sus- 
pend mission  work.  It  will  biing 
the  most  glorious  and  complete  sys- 
tem of  evangelization  earth  has  ever 
seen.  And  under  its  benignant  in- 
fluence the  heathen  shall  all  be 
brought  to  Jesus  ;  all  nations  shall 
be  blessed  in  Him,  and  all  people 
shall    call  Him  blessed.     The  most 


.irdciit  tririi(U  iA'  lo^^t  lumi.iiiity  must 
loii;^-  llir  iiio^t  t'(»i'  tlii>.  tlir  world's 
lu'St  liopr. 

'^.  It  is  ()]\j('ctr(|  I  hat  this  (l(»(t  i-iiic 
h'ads  to  r.iii.it  i(  ism.  Aii\  t  liini;-  may 
he  alms('(|,  hut  in  tlic  soImt  and  Sciip 
tural  tail  li  of  llii^  dix  t  linr  tln-ir  is 
nothing  lilh'd  t<>  minister  t«>  rash 
noss,  |)i-('snmjit  loll  oi-  folly.  Let  ns 
vci'v  cai-rt  iilly  a\  t»id  all  altrmpts  tn 
|»rt»|>h('^v  <»nis('l\rs,  or  hr  wise  ahovr 
that  wliich  i^  w  littrn  ;  hut  Irt  ns  not 
he  intimidated  hy  the  di'vil's  li<>\\l, 
IVnin  th«'  fullness  of  God's  truth  and 
testimony.  This  tinth  will  make  us 
a  iM'cnliar  people.  It  will  take  away 
the  chaim  of  the  world,  and  separate 
us  fiom  it.  It  will  make  us  v(M-y 
unlike  niaiiv  selfish  and  cunifortahle 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.      135 

Christians,  and  will  set  our  soul  on 
fire  to  serve  God  and  save  men. 
And  if  that  be  fanaticism,  then  wel- 
come such  fanaticism. 

4.  It  is  objected  that  it  is  gross 
and  material,    tending    to    promote 
earthly  and  carnal  hopes  in  the  heart 
and  the    Church,    like   the  earthly 
ideas  and  ambitions  of  the  primitive 
apostles  which  the  Master  rebuked, 
and  taught  them  rather  to  look  for  a 
spiritual  kingdom   and  a   heavenly 
home.     That  was  the  extreme  then, 
may  not  the  opposite  be  now?    Is 
not  the  true  need  the  spiritual   first, 
afterward  the  material,  the  resurrec- 
tion life  of  the  soul  first,  then  the 
resurrection  of  the  body?    We  do 
not  hold  nor  teach  any  gross  or  mate- 


l:W;  TIIK    RMIv*  Fold    «i<»^PKK. 


i'i;il  iflr.i  o|'  I  hf  iiiillcimial  a,LC<'.  TIh' 
iMxIirs  nl"  tln'  saints  will  l>r  spiritual. 
aii<l  likr  His  own.  P.iit  if  lie  was 
pleased  to  take  >\n\\  a  Ixxly  into  the 
h(\avenly  world  and  make  it  tin-  een 
t  i-e  and  ridwn  of  (  rcation,  i^  it  any 
tliini::  lint  an  alVeetatioii  to  t  ly  to  he 
nioir  spiritnal  tiian  oni-  l-oi<l  '.  Nay, 
ills  all  spii-itnal,  ami  tin-  tine  pur- 
pose an<l  end  of  irdmipt  ion  is  that 
*'  oni-  wliol.'  >j»iiit  and  >onl  and  ho(ly 
he  pi-eservrd  hlanieless  unto  the 
(•(Mnin;^  ot"  oui-  Loid  .h'<n^  ("hii^t," 
and  "the  whole  ca////  hr  tilh'd  with 
His  j^lory." 

V.       THK    SKJNS    (»F    HIS    (•()MIN(J. 
\\'hil.-  thr  day  and    th.-   h..nr  shall 
he  nnrevealed.  yet    I  I  is  eh  ildleli    "  aiV 

not  in  darkness  that  that  dav  should 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.      137 

overtake  them  as  a  thief.''  ^' None, 
as  the  end  approaches,  none  of  the 
wicked  shall  understand,  hut  the 
wise  shall  understand." 

There  is  a  distinct  order  revealed. 
He  will  first  come  for  His  own 
waiting  ones,  and  they,  with  the 
holy  dead,  shall  he  caught  uj)  to 
meet  Him  in  the  air.  The  wicked 
world  shall  he  left  behind  ;  a  formal 
church  and  a  multitude  of  nations 
shall  live  on  and  scarcely  miss  the 
little  flock  that  has  just  been  caught 
away.  Then  will  begin  a  series  of 
judgments  and  warnings,  ending  at 
last  in  the  descent  of  Christ  in 
power  and  glory,  the  revelation  of 
His  righteous  judgment  against  His 
open  enemies,  and  the  beginning  of 


138         THK   FOUR-FOLD   COSPEL. 

His  jM'i-s(>n;il  rciicn.  Tin  ic  will  tlms 
1m'  two  appr.n  iiiLCs  iA'  .Jesus  Christ  — 
tlir  (>nr  to  His  own.  tlir  otliri-,  later, 
to  the  entire  woiM  ;  ihe  tirst  as  a 
Jhidi'Lcrooin,  the  si-cond  as  a  Kiiij^ 
and  .Jn(l,L;»'.     The  si^ns  ot  t  lir  nnr  do 

not  there|ni-r  a|)ply  to  tllf  other. 
Tip'  tirst  ol"  th«'st'  a)>jH'arin,LCs  is  not 
so  sharply  detined  as  the  other.  It  is 
more  iiiiinanrnt  and  nncrrtain,  and 
may  conir  at  any  honi". 

Many  ol"  the  mo>t  itnpoi-tant  sij^ns 
ot"  thr  Lord's  (•omin;^  have  ahrady 
hren  tnllillt'd.      For  example  : 

I.  The  political  chanp'S  and  de- 
velopmmts  (»r  Haniel's  u:i"''<d  visions 
hav(^  ajiparrntly  all  orcnrird.  The 
^reat  empirrs  have  come  and  K'*'i<N 
and  the  minor  kiiiLfdoms  which  were 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.      189 

to  succeed  them  are   now  covering 
the  regions  which  once  they  swayed. 

2.  The  predicted  ^^FalUng  away," 
has  long  ago  hegun,  and  the  man  of 
sin  lias  sat  in  God's  temple  already 
the  full  time  of  the  prophetic  cycle, 
and  the  process  has  begun  which  is 
to  '^consume  and  destroy  unto  the 
end."  The  Papacy  has  fulfilled  al- 
most all  the  lineaments  of  its  mar- 
velous portrait. 

3.  The  Mohammedan  power  has 
waxed  and  waned,  and  the  waters  of 
this  great  spiritual  Euphrates  are 
being  dried  up  every  day  to  prepare 
the  way  of  God's  kingly  people. 

4.  The  Jewish  signs  have  not  been 
less  remarkable.  Jacob  is  turning 
his  face  again  to  Bethel,  and  Jerusa- 


1  in         Till-:    FOUK-FOLD   OOSPFT.. 

Iciii  is  pi'cpai'iii;^-  to  put  on  lici-  Item 
tifiil  ^arniciits  again.  Her  sons  aii^ 
slowly  j^atliriiiig,  while  jralous  na- 
tions aiv  liastrning  thcH'Xodus,  and 
fulfillini;"  unconsciously  the  voice  of 
projjhrcy. 

r».  Tlir  inlfllrctual  si^ns  iiw  not 
less  inaikrd.  Kiiowlcdi;!'  is  indiMMJ 
increased  and  inaiix  lun  to  and  j'ro, 
while  human  philosophy  talks  of 
evolution  anddeclaies  that  all  things 
continue  as  they  were,  and  nature  is 
inniuitahle  and  only  material. 

♦').  The  moral  signs  are  even  moi-e 
marked  than  Daniel's  picture.  '*  The 
wicked  shall  do  wickedly,"  was  never 
more  tine  than  to-day.  Portentous 
forms  of  wickedness  startle  the  moral 
sense  eveiy  day,  and  invention  is  as 
ri])e  in  evil  as  it  is  in  material  art. 


CHRIST  OUR  COMIXG  LORD.       141 

7.  The  religious  signs  are  growing 
more  vivid.  Lukewarmness  and 
worldliness  in  the  Church,  intense 
longings  after  holiness  on  the  part  of 
the  few,  and  a  mighty  missionaiy 
movement  are  the  features  of  the 
age,  and  the  signs  of  prophecy,  that 
point  to  the  day  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

8.  And  finally,  an  earnest,  a  grow- 
ing and  a  world-wide  expectation  of 
His  coming  on  the  part  of  all  those 
who  love  His  appearing,  is  as  pro- 
found to-day  as  it  was  in  Judea,  and 
even  the  Gentile  world  in  the  age 
preceding  His  advent  at  Bethlehem. 
The  morning  star  is  in  the  East. 
^^The  children  of  the  day"  have  seen 
it.  The  cry  gone  forth,  ^'The  night 
is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand;"  and 


14l'       the  fouk-fold  gospel. 

s<M)ii    tilt'   Sim  will    till    tlir  sky  and 
cover  the  cai  tli  w  ith  iiiillciniial  glory. 

\  I.      Illi:  r.LESHINClS  OF  HIS  COMING. 

1.  It  will  l)ring  us  Jesus  Hiiuself. 

This  is  llu'  best  of  its  blessings.     I  jke 

all   the  other  sections  of  this  Chjspel, 

this,   too,   is  the  (iospel  of    Himself. 

Not  the  i-obes  and  the  royal  crowns, 

not    the    irsurrection    Ixxlirs   or    iv- 

unitrd   friends  will   he  the  chief   joy, 

hut 

"Thou  art  coming,  wc  shall  sec  Tht-c, 
And  l)v  like  Thee  on  that  day." 

2.  It  will  hriiii;-  us  our  fiiends. 
*'  Them  wlio  sleel>  ill  Jesus  will  Ciod 
bring  with  Him."  They  sliall  he 
alive,  they  shah  he  ivcognized,  they 
shall    be    gloriously    beautiful,  they 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.       14:3 

shall  be  ours  forever.  Not  only  the 
old  ones,  but  such  new  ones,  the 
good  of  all  the  ages,  the  men  and 
women  we  have  longed  to  know. 
What  a  family  ! 

"Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 

In  shining  garments  bright, 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed 

Throng  up  the  steps  of  light ; 
O  then,  what  rapturous  greetings 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore, 
What  knitting  severed  friendships  up, 

Where  partings  are  no  more. ' ' 

3.  It  will  bring  us  perfect  spirits, 
restored  to  His  image,  glorious  in  His 
likeness,  free  from  fault,  defect,  or 
imperfection,  removed  above  temp- 
tation, incapable  of  falling,  and  over- 
'  flowing  with  unutterable  blessed- 
ness. We  shall  wear  His  perfect 
image  ;    we  shall  know  as  we  are 


Ill  'I'HK    roiK-FoLD   (lOSI'KL. 

kiiown  ;  wo  sliall  bo  as  holy  as  Ho  is 
holy  ;  wo  >hall  possess  His  >t icii^tli 
.111(1  licauly  and  porfoct  lovc.  TIr^ 
uiiiNtrsc  will  gazo  ujmhi  us,  and  iirxt 
to  tlir  -lory  of  tlio  l^inil)  will  bo  tiio 
licanly  of  tlif  bridr. 

•1.  W'c  sliall  bav»'  pcifcct  bodies  ; 
wu  shall  possess  His  pcifrct  rosiii- 
reetion  lifr  ;  we  shall  foi'^ot  oven 
what  .1  pain  washkc;  wo  shall  spring 
into  boinidlrss  ^ti«'iiL;lh  ;  oni-  hearts 
shall  tliiill  with  tlif  I'ullncss  of  im- 
mortal life,  and  space  and  distance  be 
annihilate*!.  The  laws  of  ^navita- 
tiun  will  hold  us  n<»  more.  The 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem  verti- 
cally and  hoii/ontally,  the  leiiL^th  and' 
l)readth,  and  the  hiiL;ht  thoioof  nn) 
equal.    Our  bodies  shall  bo  the  perfect 


CHRIST  OUR  COMING  LORD.       145 

instruments  of  our  exalted  spirits, 
the  exact  reflection  of  His  glorious 
body. 

5.  It  will  give  us  the  sweetest  and 
highest  service.  It  will  be  no  idle, 
selfish  ecstacy,  but  will  bring  a  per- 
fect partnership  in  His  kingdom  and 
administration.  We  shaU,  perhaps, 
be  permitted  to  fulfill  the  ideals  of 
our  highest  earthly  experiences,  and 
finish  the  work  we  have  longed  and 
tried  to  do — with  boundless  re- 
sources, infinite  capabilities,  unlimited 
scope  and  time,  and  His  own  presence 
and  omnipotent  help.  The  blessed 
work  will  be  to  serve  Him,  to  bless 
others,  and  to  raise  earth  and  hu- 
manity to  happiness,  righteousness 
and  Paradise  restored. 


146         THE    F(^rR-F(n.D    OOSPEL. 

r>.  It  will  banish  Satan.  It  will 
l)in(l  and  chain  the  i\n'  and  tiend, 
whose  hati'  and  powc^-  havr  lirld  the 
world  in  cOges  of  darkness  and  misery. 
Oh,  to  be  free  from  his  presence  for 
even  a  day  !  to  feel  that  we  need  no 
longer  watch  with  ceaseless  vigilance 
against  Inm  !  to  walk  upon  a  world 
without  a  devil  'i  Lord,  hasten  that 
glorious  day. 

7.  And  it  will  bring  such  blessings 
to  others,  to  the  race,  to  the  world. 
It  will  stop  tlie  awful  tragedy  of  sin 
and  suffering  ;  it  will  sheathe  the 
sword,  emancipate  the  captive,  close 
th(^  prison  and  the  hospital,  bind  the 
devil  and  his  henchman  death,  beau- 
tify and  glorify  the  face  of  the  earth, 
evangelize  and  convert  the  perishing 


CHRIST  OUR  COMIXG  LORD.       14V 

nations,  and  shed  light  and  gladness 
on  this  dark  scene  of  woe  and  wick 
edness. 

There  shall  be  no  more  crying, 
There  shall  be  no  more  pain, 

There  shall  be  no  more  dying, 
There  shall  be  no  more  stain. 

Hearts  that  by  death  were  riven, 

Meet  in  eternal  love  ; 
Lives  on  the  altar  given 

Rise  to  their  crowns  above. 

Satan  shall  tempt  us  never, 
Sin  shall  o'ercome  no  more, 

Joy  shall  abide  forever, 
Sorrow  and  grief  be  o'er. 

Jesus  shall  be  our  glory, 
Jesus  our  heaven  shall  be  ; 

Jesus  shall  be  our  story, 
Jesus  who  died  for  me. 

Hasten,  sweet  morn  of  gladness. 
Hasten,  dear  Lord,  we  pray  ; 

Finish  this  night  of  sadness. 
Hasten  the  heavenly  day. 


148        rm:  foi'h  fold  oospkl 

Jesus  is  coming  surely, 

Jesus  is  coming  soon  ; 
()  lei  us  walk  so  purely, 

O  let  us  keep  our  crown. 

Jesus,  our  watch  we  are  keeping, 
Longing  for  Thee  to  come  ; 

Then  shall  be  ende*!  our  night  of 
weeping, 
Then  we  shall  reach  our  lumic. 

Vil.    TIIK    LESSONS   IT   LKAVKS. 

1.  Lfl  u>  he  ready.  '*Tlio  marriage 
(A'  the  Lanil)  is  command  His  wif(» 
liatli  Jii.idc  lirrsj'ir  irady.  ;iii(l  to  her 
it  was  (;i:\\ri:i)  ihat  slir  shmild  ]>«• 
arrayed  in  tine  raiment,  clean  antl 
white."  Thank  (iod  that  th<'  rohcs 
are  </irr)i.  Let  u^  have  them  on. 
W'lnri;  i:(»i'i:s.  When  the  Ihidr  is 
dressed,  the  w«Ml(Hnji:  must  hr  near. 
So  let  us  hasten  His  coming. 

2.  Let  ns   he  watching.      "  r><'li(»ld. 


CHRIST   OUR   COMING   LORD.       140 

I  come  as  a  thief  ;  blessed  is  he  that 
watcheth  and  keepeth  his  garments, 
lest  he  walk  naked  and  they  see  his 
shame.''  Let  us  not  put  off  the  wed- 
ding robe  for  an  hour.  Let  us  re- 
member His  words,  ' '  When  thesQ 
things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then 
lift  up  your  heads  and  bend  your- 
selves BACK  (Dr.  Young),  for  your 
redemption  draweth  nigh."  Keep 
your  faces  turned  heavenwards  until 
your  whole  being  shall  curve  heaven- 
wards, like  a  dear,  old  colored  saint 
we  know,  whose  body,  when  she 
speaks  and  prays,  describes  a  circle 
bending  towards  the  sky. 

3.  Be  faithful.  It  is  to  bring  the 
reward  of  faithful  servants.  Let  us 
"look   to  it  that  we  lose  none  of  the 


150         THE   FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

things  which  we  have  wrought,  but 
may  receive  a  full  reward."  "Hold 
fast  that  thou  hast  that  no  man 
takes  thy  crown." 

In  the  ancient  Church  there  was  a 
noble  baud  of  forty  faithful  soldiers 
in  one  of  the  Roman  legions,  who 
were  condemned  to  die  for  their  faith 
in  Jesus.  They  were  all  exposed  on 
the  centre  of  a  frozen  lake,  to  perish 
on  tlie  ice,  but  allowed  the  choice  of 
recanting  from  their  faith  at  any 
moment  during  the  fatal  night  by 
walking  to  the  shore  and  reporting 
to  the  officer  on  duty. 

As  the  night  wore  on  the  sentinel 
on  shore  saw  a  cloud  of  angels  hover- 
ing over  the  place  the  martyrs  stood, 
and  as  one  by  one  they  dropped,  they 


CHRIST   OUR  COMING   LORD.       151 

placed  a  crown  upon  the  martyr's 
brow  and  bore  him  up  to  the  skies, 
while  all  the  air  rang  with  the  song, 
"  Forty  Martyrs  and  Forty  Crowns. " 
At  last  they  had  all  gone  but  one, 
and  his  crown  still  hung  in  the  sky 
above  and  no  one  seemed  to  claim  it. 
Suddenly  the  sentinel  heard  a  step, 
and  lo  !  one  of  the  forty  was  at  his 
side.  He  had  fled.  The  sentinel 
looked  at  him  as  he  took  down  his 
name,  and  then  said:  '^  Fool,  had  you 
seen  what  I  have  seen  this  night  you 
would  not  have  lost  your  crown.  But 
it  shall  not  be  lost.  Take  my  place, 
and  I  will  gladly  take  yours  ;  "  and 
forth  he  marched  to  death  and  glory, 
while  agam  the  silent  choir  took  up 
the    chorus,     ''Forty    Martyrs    and 


152         THE    FOUR-FOLD   GOSPEL. 

Forty  Crowns.  Thou  liast  been 
faithful  unto  death  and  thou  shalt 
receive  a  crown  of  life." 

God  help  us  to  hear  that  chorus 
when  He  shall  come  I 

4.  B(^  diligent.  Thcii'  is  much  to 
do.  You  can  "  luisteu  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  God."  The  world  is  to 
he  forewarned.  The  Church  is  to  be 
prepared.  Arouse  thee,  O  Christian. 
Give  Him  every  power,  every  faculty 
every  dollar,  every  moment.  Send 
the  Gospel  abroad.  Go  yourself  if 
you  can.  If  you  cannot,  send  your 
substitute.  And  may  this  last  de- 
cade of  the  nineteenth  century  mean 
for  you  and  for  this  world,  as  noth- 
ing ever  meant  before,  a  time  of 
preparation  for  tJie  coming  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ! 


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